


Hunted

by TheWhiteWolf (imnotdoneyetap)



Series: Hunt or Be Hunted [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Attraction, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Hidden Emotions, Love/Hate, Past Memories, Secret Past, Slow Build, Werewolf Mates, lost family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-20 21:33:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 155,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4802972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotdoneyetap/pseuds/TheWhiteWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Diana moves back into town in hopes of leaving her chased past behind. Yet even then her past doesn't want to settle down when a leather jacket wearing werewolf returns to Beacon Hills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Every Beginning Starts With An End

        The house stood lonely among the dense woods. The Hale household was always filled with laughter and noise but now it only contained a hollow structure of silence. I stood across from it seeing the damage the fire had done.  
        I was there that night. The night when screams of horror filled the air and I had to restrain one of my own. Things happened so fast that night and I couldn't do anything to save them. I wasn't even supposed to be there but my rebellious self had managed to get me there. Things changed that night. A lot of things, especially my view on the world.  
        Werewolves, hunters, things that go bump in the night. I was a part of it now.  
         _Hunt or be hunted._ Our family motto. One of many that I had to memorize. Rules, regulations, different kind of scenarios all running through my mind. My late teenage years were packed with intense training to prepare me for any kind of situation.  
        Animal, person, or monster.  
        Shooting, archery, hand-to-hand combat.  
        Lying, manipulating, deduction.  
        Any mental, physical, and emotional training one could ever know, I had mastered it. Yet none of my training could ever prepare me for what I felt in this exact moment.  
        All that pain and fear radiated from the memory etched in the house. After years of being a wolf I was able to smell it in the air. People died. Humans and werewolves, even children had burned in that fire. I felt so disgusted with myself and my family used that to motivate me into training. They wanted to prevent whatever happened that night to repeat itself.  
        I turn away from the house and walked deeper into the woods. I reached [a small cabin](http://wallpapers4u.net/walls/world/house-trees-architecture-412098-1200x798.jpg) that I had purchased recently. Furniture was already in place and the few things I had with me were already put away. I walk up the few porch steps to reach my door and find a box with a bow on it. I smile as I pick it up.

        _From: Alan Deaton_

        _To: DiDi_

                _A housewarming gift to welcome you back in town. There's a lot of explaining you need to do.  I hope you come by to visit me soon my favorite “sister.”_

       I open the box in confusion with the note. I find inside a set of documents. Birth Certificate, Social Security, passport, and more. I smile at the sight of my new and possibly final identity change.  _Diana Ross._ This should work. No one would question the innocent vet for lying and he was already mysterious so they wouldn't question his random sister coming into town.  
        I close the door of my house and lock it. I walk around locking down my whole house before finally entering my [bedroom.](http://pfgrenada.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/furniture-engaging-bedroom-decoration-with-glass-sliding-pella-hinged-patio-doors-including-brown-wooden-bedroom-floor-and-dark-brown-bedroom-wall-astounding-front-porch-design-using-pella-hinged-pati.jpg) I laid down feeling the strange sensation of peace. It's been awhile since I've felt this way yet thoughts ran around my mind.  
        Beacon Hills. It's been 6 years since I've been in this small deserted town. I didn't want to come back here. This town reminded me of the secrets I discovered, how I became a part of them, and how it lead me to what I am today,  _the hunted_.  
        I have been on my own for 3 years now. Distancing myself from anyone and everyone who got too close. It was a measure I had to take since anyone could find out who I really was and turn me in. If not, kill me themselves. I've moved around the states and my stay was always shorter than the last. This town was the only place I knew they wouldn't look for me in. Their guilt over the Hale fire was more than mine. I knew they wouldn't search for me here.  
        I grab a hold of my phone and sat up from my bed. I should really go talk to Deaton. He's been wanting to know why I rushed into town asking for his help. He was the only friend I had here that would help me without question. Deaton also knew about the supernatural world. I didn't know that until Marcos told me when we left this town. I drove the familiar roads of Beacon Hills to reach my most favorite location. The Clinic.  
        The sign said it was closed but I knew Deaton better than that. He was always hanging around a little later in case an emergency case popped up. I knock on the glass door and I heard his signature response.  
        "We're closed."  
        "Deaton, it's me." I state. I see him walk up to the door in confusion but once he caught sight of me he smiled.  
        "Diana, I didn't expect to see you so soon." He says as he unlocks the door and lets me in.  
        "I know. I unpacked faster than I expected and decided to come see you." I say walking in. I quickly pull him into an embrace. It was nice to be back with someone that I knew and trusted. It was also a plus that he wasn't going to turn me in at the sight of me.  
        "You've certainly grown up."  
        "Well I was 15 when we last saw each other." I answer as he leads me to the back of the clinic. I sit down on the metal table and watch him do his inventory.  
        "And you're 21 now which makes that 6 years ago. The last time we saw each other, you were running away. You barely had time to come by and say goodbye to me. Even then you were shaken up and I didn't know why. It wasn't until the day after that news of the Hale fire reached the public."  
        "I know what it looks like but Marcos and my dad...I didn't know anything until that night. If I had known what they did, what they were, what we were doing... I would have stopped it."  
        "Your intentions have always been for the better. Don't worry Diana. I know better than to jump to conclusions."  
        I sigh in relief. I thought that this conversation would be hard. Especially with what I had to say next.  
        “Marcos told me about you. How you’re a druid. I didn’t know that back then.”  
        “Yeah, it’s meant to be a secret. Druids aren’t fond of publicity so we hide in our average jobs to mask our real lives.”  
        “So I assume it wasn’t a good idea to ask for your help…”  
        “No, not at all.” Deaton states. “When it comes to friends and family, drag me in as much as you like. But I’ll rather stay out of it as much as I can.”  
        “Noted. I’ll make sure to remember that. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”  
        “I’m sure you’re right,” Deaton replies with a sigh. I was going to ask him if something was wrong but he changes the subject. “So what brought you back here, Diana?”  
        "A lot has happened, Deaton. That night changed me forever and I've made a lot of bad choices because of it."  
        He looks at me with worry.  
        "I became what I so hated, a  hunter. I had no choice but to be one.  _Hunt or be Hunted._ ” I say repeating the ingrained phrase in my mind. “I chose to hunt but 3 years ago that changed. In one of our hunts I faced an Alpha alone. I didn't mean to but he found me. His pack was gone and he was very weak. I thought I could handle him or at least injure him enough to call for back-up but I was wrong.”  
        “What else happened?” he asks. I take a deep breath before continuing.  
        “In our fight for dominance he managed to bite me. I didn't think much of it. I just needed to kill him. And I guess that just increased the purpose of the bite more. Sometimes I think that the bite was the reason I won the fight. I killed him and that triggered the bite. My brother and father came running in when they heard the fight. They saw me shift."  
        "I'm sure they wouldn't have killed you. It's not in the code." Deaton states. I just shake my head at him.  
        “The code is  _Hunt_ or  _Be Hunted._ I was a werewolf, a turned-hunter, and I would have been a more vicious animalistic hunter. I would have been a killer. So they couldn’t let me live.”  
        “But you could of learned control.” Deaton states.  
        "If I was a werewolf or some other creature that can be controlled I wouldn't have but that wasn't the case. I turned into a wolf. A big white wolf and they saw that as an uncontrollable animal. I was to be put down immediately."  
        "So how did you escape?" he asks me.  
        "I guess you can say they trained me too well." I answer with a smirk. Deaton just chuckles at me.  
        "Who would've known that you would turn out like this?"  
        "Certainly not 15 year old me." I answer. "I was worried about my grades and who was going to ask me to the winter formal. Not about who my next target was or how to hide a bruise on my face with make-up."  
        "You have certainly lived a life."  
        "Yup... it's nice to finally settle down for once though. I've heard that there no more werewolves in Beacon Hills. I should be safe for the time being. No hunters, no other werewolves, just a normal town. Hopefully this is my last stop. I don't know if I can keep on like this. I've changed my name, my appearance, and not a lot of things can be paid with cash."  
        "You should have called sooner if this was the case." Deaton tells me.  
        "I couldn't risk you in this and I really didn't want to come back here. Beacon Hills was my last resort."  
        Deaton just nods understanding my reasoning. This was the first time I've come clean to someone and not have them judge me. Oddly enough this town was getting better the second time around.  
        "Is everything ok, Diana?" he asks me referring to my dazed state.  
        "For once in my life... I think so."

***************

        _"Diana! Marcos! I'm off to work," I heard my father shout out. "If you don't leave now you're going to be late!"_  
         _I quickly made my way downstairs and prepared my to-go cup with coffee. I tapped on my foot impatiently waiting for my brother to come downstairs. It was always the same morning routine with him. He came almost tripping into the kitchen putting his jacket on and grabbing a bagel on the way._  
         _"Ok, let's go." Marcos grabbed the keys and started to head out. I followed after him sighing._  
         _"Seriously, it's our first day of school in some back country town that I already hate and we're late."_  
         _"Shut up DiDi. I tried."_  
         _"Don't call me that and you totally didn't try. I heard you come in late last night. Where were you anyways?"_  
         _"Out." he answers._  
         _"Wow. Thanks for the descriptive answer, Marcs." I say with an angry sigh._  
         _"It's just none of your business, ok?"_  
         _"Right like how we keep on moving is none of my business. Or how dad has a secret arsenal is also none of my business. But wait for this, how my brothers life, the one who always tells me everything, is none of my business."_  
         _"Diana, please don't..." Marcos says. I shift in my seat to face him._  
         _"Don't what, talk?" I ask him. I was getting pissed off with all this secrecy. "Ever since mom died we've been moving around like crazy and now we're here and dad won't tell me why. You won't even talk to me. Things changed so quickly and I'm so sick of it. We used to be best friends Marcos, and now you're ignoring me. I just hate this!"_  
         _"Diana..." Marco starts to say as he parks the car. I could see his sadden expression and I couldn't handle it anymore. I get out of the car and slam the door. I run out not wanting him to catch up with me but it causes me to bump into someone else entirely. I look up to see a pair of green eyes looking down at me._  
         _"Sorry I wasn't watching where I was going." I tell him. He just laughs it off._  
         _"It's fine. You're new aren't you?" he asks me._  
         _"Yeah, I guess it's obvious." I respond. "I'm..."_  
         _"DiDi, she's my little sister. I'm Marcos by the way." My brother says walking up to us. I give him a glare as he shakes hand with the cute boy in front of me. Luckily he didn't realize the tension between us._  
         _"Well it's nice meeting you both. I'm Derek. Derek Hale."_

       I woke up startled from the dream. I guess peace couldn't last long if I was living in the location of my worst nightmare. I get out of bed knowing that I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. I walked around the house making sure that all the windows and doors were locked. All of my weapons were in place and my to-go bag was packed just in case something happened. Once I did that I made sure to enter my [kitchen ](http://d31eqxppr3nlos.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/3Z-DarkKitchen.jpg)and settle down. I quickly ate breakfast and [got dressed](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=169164226). I made my way to the Clinic not knowing where else to go.  
        "I know I told you to come visit as much as possible but this is like the third time this week." Deaton says as I walk into the Clinic.  
        "Got bored at home as usual." I state as I took my usual seat on the table. "I also have a job interview in an hour and I wanted to swing by before it."  
        "A job interview? Where?" he asks me.  
        "At the school. There's an opening for an athletic trainer for their lacrosse team. Apparently that sport is a thing now."  
        "Yeah it's a very physical one at that. A lot of violence and people always get hurt."  
        "Well I'm glad for that then. I wouldn't have a job otherwise." I say getting up from my seat.  
        "Are you sure you want to pursue this job? I can get you one here." Deaton tells me. I laugh as I hear this.  
        "I'm not working here again. I'm not in high school anymore."  
        "Fine but you are getting a job in your old high school so I don't know how that makes it any better."  
        "I'm already regretting this Deaton but it's just one of the few jobs I have the training to apply to so I don't have a choice."  
        "Well my job offer will always stand." Deaton tells me. I roll my eyes at him. Deaton's current high school assistant was just walking in for his shift and that was my cue to leave.  
        "I don't know, Deaton. It seems that..." I say looking at the name tag. "...Scott here has this place covered.  
        The shy teenage boy looks up nervously and I just smile down at him.  
        “Hey Scott, this is my younger sister, Diana.” Deaton states as he introduces me to him. “She just moved in to Beacon Hills and is coincidentally applying for a job at your school.”  
        “It’s nice to meet you.” Scott says shaking my extended hand. “I didn’t know Dr.Deaton had a sister.”  
        “Yeah there’s a lot about Deaton you don’t know about.” I state mindlessly. I get up from my seat and change the subject. “Anyways it’s a pleasure to meet you, Scott. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you more often if I get this job.”  
        I wave goodbye to Deaton and Scott  and head towards the school.

*************

       My interview went better than I expected. The slightly falsified documents I had made didn't cause any trouble. Most of the information was true except for the last name. Even with those slight risks I managed to get a job as a part-time nurse until someone more qualified could cover it. I also got the job as an athletic trainer for any games. The pay wasn't great but it didn't matter. I already had all the money I needed. I just wanted something to do. It was also something you do when you're in hiding. Integrate yourself deeply into your location in order to make yourself look as a local. I pushed that lesson out of my mind as I made my way out of the school.  
        School started in a few days and the full moon wasn't until Friday. I had time to relax for a while more before my life became busy. I drove out of the empty parking lot and made my way home. Once I got there I did my security procedures before entering my room and changing.  
        I might have slacked off over my training the past days but I still had to keep myself sharp. I resorted to running and a punching bag. I would practice my shooting but it would make it obvious to what I was so it was just the basics for now. I grabbed my phone and earphones before running out of the house.  
        I took of sprinting and memorized the path I was going through. I jumped over fallen trees and dodged low branches. I was making my way through the most densest part of the forest before I catch sight of the Hale house. I slowed down and made my way there. I wanted to avoid this place as much as possible but this location was like a magnet to me. Me returning to Beacon Hills the first day was a perfect example for that. I looked at the burned house still trying to break my focus away from it.  
        "This is private property." I hear a deep voice from behind me. I turn startled as I realize I had managed to let someone sneak up to me. I quickly turn around to find a dark handsome guy behind me. I would have easily dealt with him if it wasn't for the bright green eyes looking down at me.  
        "Derek..." I mindlessly whisper. He seems surprised that I knew him but quickly goes back to his blank expression. I could see that he was trying to identify who I am but I knew it wasn't possible. We hardly ever spoke in high school and 6 years can definitely change one's appearance.  
        "Do I know you?" he asks.  
        "No, of course not." I state coldly. I controlled my heartbeat in order for him to not notice my slight lie. Derek seems to be annoyed by me but doesn’t ask the question again.    
        "Like I said before this is private property. You need to leave."  
        "You don’t have to tell me twice," I say stepping back. I was about to start running back to my house before I turn to him again. "I'm really sorry about your loss."  
        Derek turns to me and looks at me suspiciously. I give him a sympathetic smile before running back to my house. I covered my tracks as I made my way back. I closed my door and locked it quickly. I was out of breath but it wasn't because of the run. It all had to do with the werewolf who had moved next door.


	2. The Bite

        It was the day before school started. The full moon wasn't for three more days and the wolf inside of me couldn't wait to be let out. Yet Derek being next door made the outing a little risky. The rain was supposed to fall later tonight which made it the perfect time to let the wolf out. The rain would wash away the scent and destroy the paw prints on the soil. I stripped down in my backyard and left my robe on an outdoor hook I had placed. I shifted into my true form before running out through the open fence.  
        Shifting wasn't hard for me anymore. Three years gave me the practice to control the wolf. Many days meditating. Many hours shifting through the pain. Many minutes fighting the bloodlust. Many seconds fearing for my life.   
       Yet even through those things I never once regretted being turned. It gave me the escape I needed.   
        I ran into the forest letting the drops of rain cascade through my fur. I wasn't worried in being caught since no one would be out here tonight. It was the day before school started, it was raining, and it was night time. Those three things together meant that the forest would be left alone. I was worried about Derek catching onto me but I hadn't seen him for days now. I just hoped he left the town again so I wouldn't have to face him again.  
        In my night run I went the opposite direction from the Hale house and came across the top of a hill. I stood on a peaking stone and looked at the city below. I then turn up to the moon which was partially covered. The wolf in me was entranced by it and I knew she was waiting for the full moon but I knew it wasn't possible. In my wolf state I mindlessly let out a howl but I quickly come to regret it. Another wolf howls back and I realize that he was closer than I anticipated.  
        I felt him near me and I felt the anger radiate off of it. I turn to the trees and find two red eyes looking at me. Another Alpha, that wasn't possible, not here in Beacon Hills. The werewolf was large, strong, and anger radiated off of it. I quickly run out of the clearing afraid of being caught in his rage.  
        I can feel it catching up to me and I used my past runs to pick the densest part of the woods to lose him in. The rain was falling harder now and it covered my tracks. I ran faster, pushing myself more to get away from it, and before I knew it I had escaped. I let out a sigh as I reached my backyard. I grabbed the robe outside my bedroom and shift back. I cover myself and tie the robe tightly. I was about to hit the shower before I hear a knock on my door. I was going to ignore it but I overhear the sirens and the officers talking. Whatever it was I knew it was important.  
        I walk up to the front door and open it just a crack. I find a police officer at the other side looking at me in surprise. I knew my current state must of been awful since I had just ran in the woods for the past hours in the never ending rain.  
        "What can I do for you, Officer?" I ask him. I pull the robe closer to me as I opened the door more.  
        "I'm Sheriff Stilinski and I'm sorry to disturb you tonight ma'am but there seems to have been a murder not to far from here and I was wondering if you've seen anything suspicious occur around here at any time."  
        I instantly grew worried as I hear this. Of course this happened when I was just getting comfortable and it had to happen somewhere in my backyard.  
        "I'm sorry I've been busy the past few days and I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. May I ask what happened? Am I in any danger?"  
        "We'll like to keep the details out of the public until we get more information but half a body was found by two joggers tonight. I would advise you to stay home and to secure all your doors and windows." he tells me. I just nod acting clueless to the whole situation. He tries to look at me but the whole robe thing threw him off. At least he had some self decency.  
        "I'm sorry I couldn't help much. Is there anything else you need?" I ask him.  
        "No, ma'am. That'll be all." the Sheriff says. I begin to close the door but he places a hand stopping the door. My heart gets caught at my throat and I instantly grow afraid. "I'm sorry I just had to ask. You're new to Beacon Hills, aren't you?"  
        "Umm kind of. I moved back because I have family here." I answer back.  
        "Oh well. Welcome to Beacon Hills. I'm so sorry your time here had to start of with a murder but if you find out something else that's useful don't hesitate to call. I hope you have a better night Ms.--"  
        "Ross, but you can call me Diana." I shake his extended hand before watching all of the police leave. I would of gone back inside if it wasn't for a new scent near my house. I look around the forest and zone in on the smell.  _Derek Hale._  
        "Why don't you show yourself? I yell out. "Why are you chasing after me?"   
        I hear the crunching of leaves and find Derek stepping out of some nearby trees. I sigh once I see him make his way over to me. It had to Derek who was just at my tail a few seconds ago. I don't know how he found me but  he did. He stands in front of me with a blank expression.  
        "How did you know I was here?" he asks me.  
        "I think the better question is why you're watching me tonight?" I reply as I cross my arms.  
        "You're the girl that jogged by my house and now you live next door to me. You also seem to know me and I find that highly suspicious. Especially since there's been a murder not to far from here."  
       I look at him in curiously seeing that we weren't talking about the same thing.  
        "You weren't chasing me..." I start to say but I stop. If he doesn't know what I am then I should keep it that way. "Hold on a second... are you accusing me of being a murderer?"   
       "I don't know. Do you want to give me a reason to?"  
       "Of course. Let me see. I just moved into town a week ago. I've been inside my house for most of those days and only go out for runs or drives into town. I have someone to verify those outings." I state.  
       Derek becomes silent as he hears this.    
        "How do I know you're not the murderer?" I ask.   
        "Because this wasn't any ordinary murder." Derek states.   
        "And how would you know?"   
        Once again he becomes silent.   
        "You know what, I don't care." I state. "Just leave me the damn alone."   
        "And why should I do that?" Derek asks. "Tell me why I should leave the woman who knows me and denies it, alone?"   
        "We went to highschool together, ok? It was a big school with lots of people. I knew you but you didn't know me. Is that answer, enough?" I reply as I walk to my door. I turn back to him and see a resemblance of teenage Derek before it turned back to present him. I was about to close the door but I realized something.   
        Derek knew something about this murder. Derek wasn't the Alpha. Derek was a werewolf and he came back for a reason.   
        This made me suspicious so I decided to use my hunter skills and my new werewolf identities to change my past. I would use my skills for better things now and Derek seemed to need my help.   
        "I'm hoping you're not staying at your old house but if you are and ever need a warm meal or a dry place to stay at...my house is always open." I offer. I knew Derek needed someone on his side. Derek's blank expression was unreadable so I really didn't see much of an answer. I left him on the porch as I went back inside. I saw him walk away and disappear through the forest. I let out another sigh of relief that night and went back to my nightly routines.

*************

       I drove to the school fairly early. They had to teach me the basics before kids started coming in. I had to become situated with the equipment and review the allergy cases and the medication needed for certain students. They gave me my "uniform" which was just a white robe to put over my clothes. Nothing was happening right now since the students were just walking in. I sat in my office looking over the cases before I catch an unfamiliar scent. My eyes flash red and I realize why. There's another werewolf here.      
        I walk into the hallway to find the origin of the scent but the bell had rung and all the kids were coming in. I continue to try to track down the pungent smell but there were so many scents that I couldn't find it. I give up as one of the student quickly makes his way into the office. I turn to the blonde guy in the chair. He was wearing sunglasses and seemed to fidget a lot. He must be trying to avoid the first day of school and I really wasn't up for that. I had things to worry about like the Alpha roaming the forest, Derek, and the other werewolf that was here.     
        "Look kid, you're going to be late for class so unless you have a real reason to be here I'm going to have to ask you to leave." I tell him.  
        "I just need some aspirin." he tells me.  
        "For what? Your hangover?" I ask pointing to his sunglasses. "I'm not really supposed to be condoning the 'whole' underage drinking so I'm going to have to call your parents and..."  
        The kid looks up to me and takes off his glasses. I see the black eye on his face and realize that I might have judged him to quickly. I become worried as I see him fidget a bit more.  
        "What's your name?" I ask him going to the file cabinet.  
        "Isaac Lahey."  
        "And how did you get that bruise?" I say as I pull out his file and look through it. As I suspected it was quite thick by many injuries he's come in for.  
        "Lacrosse."  
        "Doesn't lacrosse practice start today?" I ask him confused.  
        "You're right... ok I was embarrassed to say this at first but I'm just very clumsy." he answers quietly.  
        "Sure you are." I say raising the file. "But when I'm clumsy I tend to just stub my toe not have a broken arm, fractured nose, bruised ribs... should I go on?"  
        "I should get back to class." he says standing up but I quickly block the door. He looks up at me afraid and I realized this kid was really in a bad situation. I've never seen anything like this but I recognized the signs.  
        "I'm not letting you leave, Isaac. I'm suspecting that your home situation isn't the most stable." I ask him. He timidly nods and I sigh as I lead him to his seat.  
        "It's not what you think...my dad he has reasons to be angry with me and I..." Isaac lies. I could hear his heartbeat rise very quickly and I knew it was from the fear and deception.  
        "Don't try to lie to me Isaac. I will always know when you're lying. I'm actually not sure how I'm supposed to handle this but I assume I have to report this." He looks at me worried and I quickly knew why as I looked through his file. "But your dad is the only relative you have and if I report this you'll immediately go into the system."  
        "I can handle my dad. I swear. I just have 2 more years to go." he pleads. I look at him sadly. I knew I couldn't let this go if there is something that I could do about it.  
        "I can't let you do that. It's too risky."  
        "I've been dealing with this on my own." Isaac tells me. "I don't need your help. I just need you to stay quiet."   
        "But there's enough evidence to have a case here. If we go to court..."   
        "We?" Isaac asks. "I don't even know you."   
         I realize that I had no ideas how to handle this. I grab the aspirin bottle, take out two tablets, and hand it to him. Still trying to find a way to help this kid out of his situation.   
        "You're right. I'm an absolute stranger and I haven't given you a reason to trust me. But if you need any medical aid or a place to stay at or any help at all, you call me at this number."  
        I write down my number and give it to Isaac. Isaac puts the sunglasses back on and nods. He starts to head out of my office and I call on him before he leaves.  
       Isaac just nods and leaves. I knew that I had freaked him out but I had to try everything in order to protect this kid. He was so afraid and his fear was so genuine. I had to try everything to save him. Last time I was aware of a dangerous situation I didn't do anything about it and people died. I wasn't going to let that happen again.  
       I look over the file again before placing it back with the rest of them. I turn my focus from Isaac back to the werewolf in these hallways. Not a lot of students came in to see me this morning. I took a break and made my way through the halls in hopes of catching another scent. I couldn't find anything as I made my way to the teacher's lounge.  
       I eavesdropped on conversations as my last resort. Apparently the murder wasn't much of a secret since everyone seemed to be talking about it. I also found out that there was a party on Friday at some girl named Lydia's house. All of these things were useless in tracking down the werewolf.  
       I enter the teacher's lounge and smile at the sight of coffee. I go up to the pot and serve myself a cup. All of the teachers looked like they regretted their decisions in becoming teachers and I assumed I knew why. High School for me was always rowdy. I went through my rebellious stage, my lovers phase, a drunk state, and ended as valedictorian athletic star. I had to play those roles depending on my target and it was annoying to me so it must have been more annoying to the teachers.  
       "Hey you're the new fancy nurse for my team!"  
       I turn to the voice to find a guy in a tracksuit.  
       "I'm an athletic trainer if that's what you mean?" I say unsure.  
       "Pota _to_ , Po _ta_ to."  
       "I don't think... never mind. I'm Diana Ross and you must be Coach Finstock. I'm looking forward to this season."  
       "I bet you are! Our team has won the state championship three years now. Your job doesn't get any better than this."  
       He was very cocky and I was a bit annoyed by that.  
       "Sure am..." I say sarcastically. I grab my cup of coffee and was ready to leave the teacher's lounge before another teacher intercepts me.  
       "I wouldn't take whatever Finstock says seriously. He can be an idiot most of the time."  
       "Ok I'll keep that in mind, Mr.-"  
       "Harris but you can call me Adrian. I'm the chemistry teacher." He says taking out his hand. I shake his hand still unsure of how I felt about this guy. "I heard you're new to Beacon Hills and if you need any..."  
       And there it was. He was trying to flirt with the new hire which meant he probably didn't have a life outside of the school. Also his approach towards me was very subtle which meant he didn't have much of a confidence when it came to the other gender. I felt bad for him but I wasn't one for pity dates.  
       "Mr. Harris is nice for you to offer your help but I already moved into my house quite nicely. I also know my way in town since I lived here when I was a teenager." I look at my watch before I face him again. "And I should really get back to my office. There's this one student that needs her AED pill during this time. It was nice meeting you."  
       I head back into the hallway and quickly catch a faint scent on the other werewolf. I walk down the hall in order to find it but all the students were already pushing their way to their next class. I sigh as the scent disappears into the crowd. I return to my office and give Erica her pill before sending her to class.  
       It was almost the end of the day and there were no more students that I had to take care of. I decided to take off early and [change into my sports gear ](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=169164451)for practice. I had my medic bag ready with my fridge of ice. I doubt that I would use any of this since it was the first day of practice but I never seen lacrosse so I had to be ready.  
       I head out on the field and sit down on the bench. All the players were dressed up and running into the field. Through the smell of all the testosterone I caught the scent of the werewolf. I look at all of the players knowing that if they were going to show signs it would be here. My basic knowledge of lacrosse was that it was an aggressive game and one thing about werewolves was that it was hard for us to control our emotions.  
        "McCall!" Coach shouts out. I snap out of my tracking phase and look up to find a boy running up to him. McCall... that name sounded familiar. I look over my medic bag and find the labelled inhaler for him. He was the severely asthmatic that I was told about. I look towards the player to also find the familiar face of Deaton's assistant, Scott.  
       "You're on goal." he instructs.  
       "I've never played." Scott tells him.  
       "I know. Scoring some shots will give the boys a confidence boost." Coach says pushing Scott forward. "It's a first day back thing. Get 'em energized. Fired up!"  
       "Coach I don't think that's a good idea..." I say walking up to him.  
       "Oh, he'll be fine." He assures me. "Try not to take any in the face. Let's go! Come on!"  
       Scott runs out on the field with no hesitation.  
       "Hey Coach," I say trying to fix the situation somehow. Scott gets on goal and the first ball thrown goes directly to his face. I cringe at the sight and turn back to Finstock. "I don't know if you forgot but Scott McCall has asthma. So maybe it was not a great decision to put him in goal."  
       "Goddammit! Couldn't you have told me sooner?" he asks me. We turn back to the field in worry but by then Scott seemed to be doing well. Every ball thrown at him he caught it. He wasn't even out of breath and I put his inhaler away.  
       He's the werewolf. The signs were there. Scott McCall was severely asthmatic and he hadn't been able to play lacrosse. He couldn't be this good if he was sitting on the bench the whole time. Also he hasn't needed his inhaler this whole time which meant that he must have gone through a transformation. A very big one, he was the werewolf, and from what I could see a new one.  
       I let him walk past me and my eyes instantly turn red. I quickly grab my stuff and head to my car. I waited for Scott to get there but I soon realized he left so long ago. I shut my door angrily seeing that I had left him get away. I could try to track him but his scent most likely got lost in the car he drove off from.   
        I had no other choice but to find answers elsewhere. I had an idea where.   
        I walk into the Clinic looking for Deaton. He was checking on a dog that had a splinter. I walk in and sooth the dog as Deaton injected a drug on him. Once that was over with Deaton turned to me.   
        "Business first then pleasure. How was your first day of school?" Deaton asks as he moves the dog back to it's cage. I laugh at the question.   
        "I guess you can say it was a great start." I answer. "I got this kid with an abusive father who doesn't want help. My boss is kind of a jerk. Some teacher tried to ask me out and there seems to be a new beta in town. Want to take a guess to who it is?"   
        "I have no clue." Deaton answers.   
        "Your assistant, Scott McCall."   
        Deaton's expression shows genuine surprise.   
        "Are you sure?" he asks.   
        "Yeah, he must have recently gotten the bite because I didn't sense him the last time I saw him. Which brings it back to the other Alpha in town. Did you know about him?" I ask him.   
        Deaton just sighs. I shake my head as his heart picked up the pace.   
        "You knew there was another Alpha in town and you didn't tell me!"   
        "Diana, you needed help. What else was I supposed to do?"   
        "Warn me of the danger I was headed to!" I shout back. "My father and brother could be on their way here if this Alpha keeps on turning people and killing others. I'm as good as dead if I stay here another second longer."   
        "Are you going to leave?" Deaton asks me. "Are you going to pick up your stuff and run? What are you going to do, Diana? You don't have a lot of money. You have no other place to go. And you're alone."   
        I sigh as he states these details.   
        "Beacon Hills, with the slight trouble it has, can keep you safe. All you have to do is find the Alpha and find out what he wants."   
        "He's already killed someone, Deaton. What he wants isn't good. And now he's turned Scott into his beta. He could be creating an army to create more assassinations. He needs to be stopped."  
        Deaton's expression was one of relief. I realized what he's done as he stepped away from me.   
        "Diana, you know how to stop him. You have the strength, the skill, and the weapons."  
        "That was the plan all along. It's the only way I can claim this town. Alphas in the same area is a call for a werewolf war and if he has a pack I most likely won't survive it."  
        "Then you'll have to play smart. That won't be to hard to do. You've always been a step ahead from others."   
        "And what about the other werewolf in town? What about Derek? Did you know about him too?"   
        Deaton once again is surprised at this.   
        "He's alive?"   
        "Yup and we've already talked. He didn't recognize me and he doesn't know about me being a werewolf. I'm not sure why he's back. But I do know he's not the Alpha."   
        "Diana, you might need his help on this. You should consider a partnership with him."   
        I sarcastically laugh at that.   
        "Sure and while I'm at it. I'll tell him how I watched his family died and ran away after it happened. I should also go ahead and reveal how I'm a hunter and I've killed his kind for another part of my life. So many fun facts I could tell him about myself."   
        "There are times we need to hide the truth for the greater good."   
        "And there are times when you take matters into your own hands, alone."   
        Deaton sighs as he hear this. I let him be disappointed in me before my emotions got the best of me. I couldn't stop feeling angry. He lied to me and drew me into this trouble of a town.  
        "You've made me feel something I haven't felt in 3 years and that's anger. Deaton..." I sigh out. "I can't trust you."    
        "I know." Deaton states.   
        "Call me if you find something out about this. But other than that, don't talk to me."   
        I leave his office, angry and upset. It took all of my willpower not to turn in his office. I go back into my car and drive back to my cabin. I was officially alone in this town and sadly, I was used to it.  


	3. Wolf Moon

        Two days had gone by very slowly. Nothing really happened in school and the nurse's office didn't get much action. I didn't know how to approach Scott about his new change. I wasn't in the mood to turn his world around but sadly that time was coming around seeing that tonight was a full moon.   
        I had already changed into my sports gear and was making my way to the field when a conversation caught my attention. I turn a corner to find Jackson pinning Scott into the locker.  
        "Now, listen, McCall - You're gonna tell me exactly what it is and who you're buying it from, because there's no way in hell you're out there kicking ass on the field like that without some sort of chemical boost."  
        "Oh, you mean steroids. Are you on steroids?" Scott asks him. I almost smacked myself on the head due to Scott's idiocy. This kid will not make it far with the whole werewolf situation.  
        "What the hell is going on with you, McCall?" Jackson asks him again.  
        "What's going on with me? You really wanna know? Well, so would I! Because I can see, hear, and smell things that I shouldn't be able to see, hear, and smell. I do things that should be impossible, I'm sleepwalking three miles into the middle of the woods, and I'm pretty much convinced that I'm totally out of my freaking mind!"  
        This kid seriously didn't know how to hide his cover. After these past two days he was doing so well and now he had to do this. Jackson becomes more angry with Scott's answer and I see him raise his fist. I quickly run up to them preventing the rising fight.  
        "Hey! You two, break it up!" I say pulling Jackson off of Scott. "Save it for the field!"  
        Jackson just glares at me before heading out. Scott looks at me thankfully.  
        "Thank, Diana." Scott sighs out.  
        "Next time you have a break down please keep it to yourself or at least don't blurt it out to an angry hormonal teenager that'll kill you if he gets the chance." I tell him. Scott quickly nods and runs out of the school. I watch him go before following after him. This was going to be harder than I thought.  
        I enter the field and find the practice had already started. It was the final elimination and so this practice was the final cuts for first line. I continue to watch the game and Scott suddenly makes a run for it. He manages to dodge a lot of players and in the end he flips over the last two defenders and makes the shot.  
        "McCall! Get over here! What in God's name was that? This is a lacrosse field. What, are you trying out for the gymnastics team?"  
        "No, Coach." Scott innocently says.  
        "That was unbelievable..." I whisper as I walk up to them. This kid was coming to his powers very quickly and I was certain that it had to do with the full moon tonight.  
        "What the hell was that?" Coach asks.  
        "I don't know. I was just trying to make the shot." Scott answers.  
        "Yeah, well, you made the shot. And guess what? You're startin', buddy. You made first line. Come on!" Coach exclaims. I sigh as I heard the news. Lacrosse. The most violent game I've ever seen and is a heart-pumping game. This was getting more and more complicated by the day.  
        Practice was over and I quickly ran out in hopes of following Scott again but I couldn't find him anywhere. Even his friends' jeep was gone. I sigh as I get in my car. Now I needed to find them and I had no clue where to start. I grabbed the files I had taken from my office to get Scott's address. I drive to my house to change before I go find Scott.   
        I enter my room and quickly change into a [presentable outfit](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=169164648). I didn't know who I would run into in my search mission so it was better to overdress than under. I went down to my basement and grabbed a few weapons before putting them in my bag.    
        A gun. Silver knives. Brass knuckles. Extra bullets.   
        I needed to be prepared for everything. Especially since I'll rather fight with my hunter skills then resort to my wolf. There were a lot of complications to becoming the wolf.   
        First of all, it tore any clothes I had on which left me naked after I turned. Second, I was a wolf. I don't have a lot of motions to use my teeth or claws. Finally, I needed to keep my werewolf identity to a minimum.   
        I grabbed all of my supplies and locked the house down before heading out. I first stop by Scott's house just to find it empty. The next house was Stiles', which was Scott's best friend as I found out, and he was just getting into his car. He looked too dressed up so I decide to follow him.  
        The blue jeep leads me to a crowded house. Teenagers were coming in and out of the front door. There was no security risks or parental units around which made it easy for me to slip into the house unnoticed.  
        The smell of alcohol, drugs, and teenage hormones filled the air. I pushed my way through grinding teenagers which wasn't easy as some boys pushed themselves onto me. I easily pushed them away from me and made my way outside. Luckily in my search for fresh air, I find Scott dancing with some girl. I head towards a distant location in order to not be seen by him when something else catches my attention. A dog was barking non-stop and as I turn to find the source of the disturbance, I find Derek staring down Scott. I quickly move myself into a crowd, trying to hide myself from him, and as I turn back to see if Derek was still there, he was gone.   
        I let out a sigh of relief seeing that he was gone. I grab some boy, coincidentally Stiles, and force him to dance with me. He seems surprised to see me there.   
        "Wow, you're a...and I'm dancing with...and I'm totally screwed. My dad's going to kill me."   
        "I'm not here to bust everyone with underage drinking and possible drug use. I'm here to keep an eye on Scott."   
        Stiles' heart picks up as I say this and I turn to him. He knew something and seeing his state right know it would be easy to get the information out of him.   
        "Stiles..." I say in a low tone. I blink flirtatiously at him. "Are you hiding something from me?"   
        "No... why would I? I'm just a kid... I don't...I don't know anything about..."   
        "Anything about what?" I ask him. I lean into his ear and begin to whisper at him. This made his heart beat faster again. "Stiles, you can tell me anything."   
        "Scott, he's uh... I think he's a werewolf." Stiles stammers out. I smile as I get the information out of him.   
        "Good. Now that you know what's going to happen to Scott once the full moon rises it's peak means you can help me. So, does Scott know what's happening to him?"   
        "I tried to tell him but he ignored it." Stiles tells me.   
        "And how did you find out?" I ask him.   
        "The bite Scott got two nights ago, the research I've made, the howls in the woods."  
        "What howls? Scott heard howling?" I ask him.   
        "Yeah. He said he heard wolves howling. And from what I found out when a wolf's alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. Two howls means there must be more than one. There must be a pack."  
        "That's unlikely." I tell him.   
        "You know something don't you?" he asks me.   
        "I know a hell of a lot." I answer. I look over at Scott again and see him dancing with some girl. "And what about that girl he's dancing with?"   
        "Her name is Allison Argent. Her and her family just moved back into town."   
        "Argent?" I ask worriedly. "Did you just say Argent?"   
        "Yeah... what's wrong?" he asks me.   
        "Nothing," I state as I look around for Scott. "That name just sounded familiar."   
        I keep on looking for Scott but I couldn't find him. I instantly grow worried seeing that he was alone with an Argent and that there were more of them here.   
        "We need to find Scott." I state. "We need to find him now. He's in a lot of danger."   
        Stiles and I run into the house and search for him. We find Scott nowhere in sight but we do find Allison getting into Derek's black Camaro. That gave me the idea that she didn't know what was going on because she wouldn't have let Scott go away like that. The Camaro drives off to some unknown location and I'm left with Stiles standing beside me.   
        "We have to get to Scott's house. He'll want to go home and once he completely turns he's going to run into the woods. He'll be vulnerable then. Hunters or other werewolves will want to kill him tonight. We can't let that happen."   
        Stiles, after he hears this, heads towards his car while I get to mine. He then leads me to Scott's house where Stiles uses his own key to open it. He leads me through the dark house up to Scott's room. Stiles knocks on his door. We both could hear his groans of pain and his ragged breath.   
        "Go away." Scott shouts out.   
        "Scott, it's me." Stiles replies. "And our trainer's here too."   
        "Let us in, Scott." I state. "I can help."   
        "No! Listen, you gotta find Allison." Scott shouts back.   
        "She's fine, all right?" Stiles answers. "I saw her get a ride from the party. She's...she's totally fine, all right?"   
        "No, I think I know who it is."  
        "Scott, what are you talking about? Let us in!" I jiggle the handle again even though I knew it was locked. "We can help..."   
        "It's Derek. Derek Hale is the werewolf. He's the one that bit me. He's the one that killed the girl in the woods."   
        I stop trying to get in once I hear this. He had all of the details wrong but how he found about Derek was beyond my mind. My mind was preoccupied with them knowing this detail that I couldn't stop Stiles from sending Scott over the edge.   
        "Scott...Derek's the one who drove Allison from the party."  
        I hear a low growl which signaled me that he had completely turned. I quickly start slamming myself on the door in order to open it while Stiles screams his name. After the fourth try it opens up and Stiles and I find the room empty.   
        "This is not good." I sigh out.   
        "What do we do?" Stiles asks. "Do I call my dad? Do I get my silver bullets ready? Do I set bear traps? What are we supposed to do?"   
        "You shut up!" I growl out. "I need to think."   
        Stiles does as he's told.   
        "Ok, umm...ok I got this." I say as I make up my mind. "You're going to Allison's house and check if Scott's there. I'm going to search the woods since he most likely feels drawn there. You call me with any updates, ok?" I give him my phone and grab his before jumping out the window. I enter my car and quickly drive out of the driveway. I park my car on the side of the street and head into the woods.    
        I grab the silver knives out of my bag and quickly start to sprint. I tried to catch his scent but something else catches my attention. The smell I caught was feminine and came from a certain girl Scott was interested in. She's here and she's most likely going to kill him. I run towards that direction knowing that Scott would be attracted to it and I hoped that I could catch him before she did.  
        I find myself on a small clearing just to find Allison's jacket hanged on a branch. This was a trap and before I could prepare myself for the oncoming fight I'm being tackled by some unknown attacker.  
        We roll a couple of times trying to come up on top but he finally pins me down on the ground. I look up to find green eyes looking down on me.   
        "YOU?" he asks angrily at me.   
        "Yeah, me." I headbutt him which stuns him enough to let me slip through. "And I don't like to be man-handled."   
        "What are you doing out here?" Derek asks me.   
        "Same reason you are. It's a full moon. There's an Alpha with an agenda. And Scott's a new beta."  
        "How do you know this?" he asks.  
        "I think you already know." I tell him. "You suspected me for a reason."   
        "You're a werewolf..." Derek sighs out. "How did I not notice?"  
        "If I didn't want you to know, you wouldn't know." I answer.   
        "You're the second wolf that night." Derek states. "But you're not with him."   
        "How do you know?" I ask him.   
        Derek seems to contemplate an answer and once he was about to say something he stops.   
        "He's here. We have to hide, now!" He grabs a hold of my hand and drags me behind a tree. I was going to question him to who was here when I hear Scott come running in.   
        "Where is she?" Scott shouts out as he looks at the jacket.  
        "She's safe. From you." Derek answers from his hidden spot. Scott looks for him and before I knew it Derek had run out and tries to pin him down. I quickly follow as they roll down a hill. Derek ends up on top and pins Scott to a nearby tree.I take a good look at Scott seeing him in his werewolf state.  
        "What did you do with her?" Scott asks. I was about to respond before I heard whispers in the distant. There were three quick footsteps that echoed through the leaves and branches of the woods.   
        "Derek..." I say in a warning tone but Derek had also heard them too.  
        "Shh, quiet. Too late. They're already here. Run." Derek grabs my hand and pulls me into our sprint. Scott didn't seem to get the memo and I heard his cries of pain.   
        "Derek, stop! We can't leave him with them." I exclaim. Derek growls.  
        "Stay here. I'll go get him."  
        I didn't like the idea of him doing this alone so I followed after him. Derek took one of the hunters down. I grabbed the silver dagger from my pocket and quickly throw it at the other one. Derek and I then free Scott from the arrow that pinned him on the tree. I take off running dragging Scott with me. Derek quickly caught up to us and we slowed down to a stop. By then Scott was back to normal and panting out of breath.  
        "Diana what's...who were they?"" he asks scarred.  
        "Hunters. The kind that have been hunting us for centuries." Derek answers.  
        "Us? You mean you! You did this to me!" Scott accuses.  
        "Scott, you have the wrong idea..." I try to explain but Derek steps in.  
        "Is it really so bad, Scott? That you can see better, hear more clearly, move faster than any human could ever hope? You've been given something that most people would kill for. The bite is a gift."  
        I didn't comment on that statement as Scott looked up at us in fear.  
        "I don't want it." Scott states.  
        "You will. And you're gonna need us if you want to learn how to control it. So you and me, Scott - We're brothers now." Derek says. He then walks away. I was torn between following after him or staying here with Scott. I had questions for Derek and I knew he had questions for me too. I also knew that Scott was confused and I had some explaining to do. Unlike Derek I saw Scott pretty much daily. I pull up Scott up to his feet and put his arm over my shoulder.  
        "Come on kid. The hunters will be at our heels again if we stay here. My house isn't too far from here and I'll be able to tend to your wound until it heals itself. " I say as I lead him to my house.  
        "I thought you were Deaton's sister and our Lacrosse trainer. And now you're a part of this. Diana, what the hell is going on?"  
        "A lot of things you don't know about, Scott." I say as I open the door and let him in. I grab the first aid kit from the bathroom and return[ to the living room](https://myfireplaces.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/living-room-fireplace.jpeg).   
        "What are you?" he asks me not wasting any time. He winces as I apply rubbing alcohol to the arrow wound. I think over my response but I knew I couldn't lie to the kid. He needed to know the truth but not all of it.  
        "I'm like you, a werewolf." I say as I wrap his arm with a bandage.  
        "And how do you know Derek?" he asks me.  
        "We're neighbors." I state not wanting to go further.  
        "Does Deaton know about this? Is he one of us too?" Scott asks me.  
        "He's 100% human, Scott. I was bitten 3 years ago and I finally made my way back home." I tell him.  
        "Why did it take you so long?" he asks me.   
        I take a deep breath as I thought of a response.   
        "Those hunters out there... they're some who are searching for me specifically. It took me a while to lose them before I came back here."   
        "And Deaton doesn't know any of this?" Scott asks.   
        "Let's not talk about him. We're not in good terms." I tell him changing the subject.  
        "And what about Derek?" Scott asks. "Are you working with him?"   
        "No, we're just neighbours that ended up crossing paths." I say taping up his arm. I look out to see the sun barely rising. "I would offer you a ride but Stiles have been calling me non-stop to see if I've found you. I've texted him already. He's on his way here."  
        "Thanks Diana."   
        Stiles' jeep quickly drives in. I was worried he would run over my house as he did that.  
        "Scott," I call out as he makes his way out of my door. "Don't tell anyone about this. The more people know, the more their in danger. The more we are all in danger."  
        Scott just nods and walks out. Stiles throws my phone back while I give his back. I close the door after Stiles drives away and I make my way to my room. I slump into bed, tired. The whole night was spent running, chasing, and a high school party. I was ready to let myself drift into sleep when I hear a knock on my slide door. I look up to find Derek watching me. I sigh and get up. I unlock the door and Derek steps in.   
        "What are you doing here?" I ask him tiredly.   
        "We need to talk."   
        "I know but I was hoping to postpone it until you decided to leave town."   
        "Yeah, that's not going to happen." Derek tells me as he looks around my room. I knew he was trying to get a read on me but my bedroom was void of any significant markers.   
        "I'm assuming you're sticking around for the Alpha." I tell him. "The question is why?"   
        "I'll tell you if you tell me why you're chasing him too."   
        I sigh at his proposition but this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere if neither of us offered a response.   
        "Fine. I'm chasing him because he's already killed someone and turned a teenage boy. It also has to do with territory..." I say slowly. Derek slowly realizes what I mean.   
        "You're an Alpha." Derek states a bit upset. I raise my hands defensively.  
        "I am." I state. "But I'm not the one you want."   
        "How would I know?" he asks taking a step forward. I take a step back in return.   
        "Look at me, Derek." I tell him. "If I had turned Scott, I wouldn't have left him running with hunters out there. And I wouldn't have taken out a hunter with a small little knife. If I was the Alpha we're after I would have killed him, not injured him slightly."   
        Derek seems convinced with my explanation.   
        "I don't trust you."   
        "In all honesty you probably shouldn't but you're going to need me on your side if you're going to track down the Alpha and monitor Scott's behavior." I tell him. I decided to follow Deaton's advice and have Derek help me with this. "From what I know, you've must have been following me for the past week. So you know I've been working at the school and I have the skills to keep myself alive."   
        "And?"   
        "You need me Derek. As an Alpha, as a skilled fighter, and a person who has direct contact with Scott all day."   
        "I know I do." Derek sighs out. "But... I work alone."   
        "So do I." I tell him. "But I can use your help on this and I know you need mine."   
        Derek still looks at me in suspicion. I was just about to give up before he sighs in resignation.  
        "Fine, but I'm doing my own search while you do yours. If we cross paths then we'll help each other. Does that sound good to you?"   
        "Sounds better than I had in mind." I tell him.   
        Derek just nods at me before making his way out of the room. I still had a question in mind as to why he didn't attack me. He looked about ready to but something was stopping him.  
        "You said I wasn't working with the Alpha. How did you know?"   
        Derek once again takes his time to respond. He looks up at me, his eyes showing a familiar emotion.   
        "I heard two howls the other night. One was calling on his pack. While the other... the other was searching for one, she sounded alone."   
        He looks at me understanding the same emotion. It was good to know that someone else knew how I felt if only it wasn't the person's life I had ruined.   
        "I don't need your pity." I tell him. "I'm fine being by myself. It's better that way."   
        Derek seems to understand that and doesn't judge me on my views. Oddly enough I relax as I didn't have to justify my solitude. Derek and I stare at each other a while longer. I break it as I turn away not handling the intensity of it all.   
        "I should go." Derek tells me. I just nod not having the voice to speak up. Derek gives me another glance before slipping through the door and disappearing into the woods. The conversation plays in a loop in my head.   
         _While the other... the other was searching for one, she sounded alone._


	4. Buried Truths

        I walked onto the field waiting for practice to start. It seemed to already be a rough start on the week since the weekend was a sign of that. I had secured my house more than before now that hunters were here. Not only that but the hunters were Argents and that placed me at a higher risk than before. After that busy weekend I still had to wake up early and go to work. I was definitely regretting this.  
        "Where's McCall?" Coach Finstock shouts out. I look up and find that Scott hadn't come out of the locker room yet. Coincidently his friend Stiles wasn't here either.  
        "I'll go look for him." I say standing up from my seat but before I could even start walking they both come running in. I took that into notice as I saw Scott's pale expression. I made sure to make a mental note to ask him what's wrong.  
        "Here we go! Let's go! One-on-one from up top! Jackson! Take a long stick today." Coach instructs throwing the lacrosse stick to Jackson. He grabs it without hesitation and runs onto the field. The defense drill had Danny on the goal, Jackson as sole defender, and the rest of the team trying to get through and score. Scott was up next and he seemed to be a bit off.  
        "McCall, what are you waiting for? Let's go." Finstock shouts out. Scott runs in just to be thrown down by Jackson. I quickly made my way on the field to see if he had any injuries but Scott stands up. I stop walking but I see him bend over in pain.  
        "McCall? My--my grandmother can move faster than that." Finstock whispers at him. "And she's dead. You think you can move faster than the lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother?"  
        "Coach, give the kid a break." I say trying to snap Scott out of his rising anger.  
        "Step off, lady. I want to hear McCall's answer."  
        I step away from them. I look at Scott worried that he might shift in front of everyone. I look into his eyes to find them yellow. This was not going to be good.  
        "So what is it McCall?"  
        "Yes, coach." Scott answers lowly.  
        "I can't hear you."  
        "Yes, coach." he answers loudly.  
        "Then do it again." Finstock instructs. Scott runs out before I could get a word in. He lines up across from Jackson and runs in. Scott sends Jackson flying into the ground as he rammed into him. I ran in to check on both of them. Scott seemed to be ready to shift and Jackson was badly injured.  
        "Take him out of here." I say as I passed by Stiles. He quickly does as I say while I reach Jackson. I push through the crowding players while Finstock tried to check on him.  
        "Everyone give him some space." I instruct. I quickly take of Jackson's helmet and check for any head injuries. He winces as he tries to sit up and I realize that it was his shoulder that took most of the hit.  
        "Ok I'm going to need some of you to help him to the bench. Your shoulder's the problem and I'm going to have to ice it before I send you off to the hospital." I state.  
        "The hospital? Why do we need the hospital when we got you?" Finstock asks me as the players carry Jackson onto the bench.  
        "Well I tend to pulled muscles and sprained ankles not a possible fractured shoulder. Most likely he separated but I want to be sure. I don't know how bad it is." I answer him. I get up and make my way to the cooler. I felt myself being watched and I look up to find Derek across the field. He must have seen the whole thing. He looks at me before he leaves.  
        Seeing that I turn back to Jackson. I grab the bag of ice and wrapped his shoulder. Finstock called off practice so Jackson could get his shoulder checked out.  
        "How bad is it?" he asks me as I clean up.  
        "I'm not sure." I tell him.  
        "Can he play?"  
        "I don't know."  
        "Give me something to go on. Our first game is this Saturday and I desperately need our star player on the field. Tell me something Nurse Jackie."  
        I slam the cooler closed as I heard this.  
        "First off, my name is not Jackie is Diana. Second, like I said before I can't diagnose an internal injury. Finally, you'll treat me with some respect because I will stick my foot so far up your ass..."  
        "Diana."  
        I stop my ranting as I see Derek walking up to me. I let out a sigh before facing Coach Finstock again.  
        "I'll see you at practice tomorrow, Coach."  
        I grab my stuff and walk out of the field with Derek walking beside me. We make it to my car in silence. I place everything I had with me on the trunk before I faced him.  
        "You almost lost your cool." he states. I roll my eyes at him.  
        "Don't you think I know that? That guy just knows how to piss people off."  
        "Yeah like how he managed to make Scott shift mid-practice. I can see your surveillance was useful on that one."  
        "Hey! I tried to make him back off from Scott but he brushed me off. I didn't have a choice but to let Scott play."  
        "Then it's settled. Scott doesn't play. Ever." Derek states as he walks over to his car.  
        "Wait, Derek. You can't be serious?" I ask him. He turns to me and gives me a stern stare.  
        "I'm completely serious. Until he learns how to control his anger and his shifts, he can't play."  
        I sigh as I hear this. I didn't know how Derek was going to pull this stunt off since Scott most likely won't want to. Not only that but the lacrosse team was relying on Scott if Jackson's injury was worse than I diagnosed.  
        "How are you planning to tell him?" I ask Derek. He opens the passenger door of his car and turns to me.  
        "I’ll stop by his house and nicely tell him.” Derek answers. I look at him skeptically. “I’ll most likely threaten to kill him if he plays.”  
        “That sounds like a great plan!” I reply. “Five out of five stars.”  
        “It’ll get the job done." Derek replies. I roll my eyes at him which he takes that negatively. “Now what?”  
        “You’ve seem to forgotten something,” I tell him. “Scott’'s a teenager and teenagers tend to do the exact opposite of what the authorities say. I speak of experience."

************

        _I was grabbing the books I needed for my next class from my locker. Everyone else was walking behind me headed to their class. I was already late as the second bell rung. I quickly closed my locker just to find my brother standing next to it. I jump back in fright._  
         _"Oh my gosh, Marc. You gave me a heart attack." I gasp out. My grip on my books tighten and I start to walk away from him._  
         _"You're going by Cora's house after school?" he asks me._  
         _"Yeah, you can give me a ride right?" I ask him._  
         _"No, I can't..." he sighs out._  
         _"What do you mean?" I ask him. "You're going to there house anyways. Why can't you give me a lift?"_  
         _"Because I don't want you hanging out with her."_  
         _I snap towards him._  
         _"Are you serious? That's your excuse."_  
         _"I don't like the girl ok? She just doesn't seem like the best influence for you."_  
         _"And what exactly is her influence? Is forcing me to study, one of them? Or gossiping about the latest rumor? No obviously it's because she actually understands what it is to have an annoying older brother that treats her like a child."_  
         _"Diana, I'm just trying to look out for you. The Hales are people you don't want to mess with."_  
         _"Your so hypocritical, Marcos!" I exclaim. "You can't say that to me while your best friends with Derek. I'm going to there house either way. So are you going to give me a lift or not?"_  
         _"I have basketball tryouts and I need to talk to some teacher's after school so I don't think so."_  
         _I look at him confused as he said this._  
         _"Since when did you have an interest in basketball? You've always preferred soccer." I tell him. He seems to fidget as I say this. "What is going on with you? Seriously, Marc. You can trust me."_  
         _"There's just a lot of things going on..." Marcos starts off. He sighs and seems to think over of what to say. I could see he was very worried and stressed. "Dad and I, we..."_  
         _"Class has started, kids. You're already late." Some teacher says as she looks us over._  
         _"We'll be there in a minute. I'm just talking to my sister about her ride after school."_  
         _"Well get that settled and get to class." she says before entering her classroom. I turn to Marcos who swung his backpack over his shoulder._  
         _"I'll see you at home." he states before walking away._  
         _"Yeah, sure..." I say turning away from him. "But I'm still going to Cora's whether you want me to or not."_

***********

       The week had gone by pretty quickly. It might also have to do with me finally catching on to my routine. Morning runs, shower, school, practice, come home, punching bag, shower, go to sleep, and repeat. I walk into my office before the bell rings just to find Scott waiting for me. I look at him confused.  
        "I doubt you're here for medicine." I state as I close the door. Scott nervously smiles at me.  
        "Yeah, I'm actually here for a favor." he tells me. I look at him afraid of what he was going to say next. "You see, I wanted to know...maybe you can... I mean..."  
        "If you want me to convince Derek to let you play that's impossible. He's completely set his mind on you not playing and I’m not that close to him. We both work alone."  
        "Are you serious?" he asks me. I just nod as a response in which he sighs at. "Is there a way you can give me a doctor's note telling Coach I can't play tomorrow?"  
        I laugh at that and shake my head at him. "Of course not. He'll have my head at practice for excusing his other star player from playing tomorrow. Scott, this is your responsibility, you can't have other people covering for you."  
        "Well you covered for me the night of the full moon." Scott states.  
        "That was an exception. You could of died if I left you with those hunters."  
        Scott slumps over in defeat. "There is so much going on and I don't understand anything at all."  
        "You want to talk about it?" I ask him. I look over him and see the dark bags under his eyes. "You haven't slept at all have you?"  
        "Well when you turn into a bloodthirsty monster and want to kill everything at sight you tend to not sleep. There's also this thing with a girl I like who has a hunter as a father and now I can't even play lacrosse. The worst part of it all is I don't even understand what's happening to me." Scott rambles out.  
        "I promise you I'll explain everything. I just need time to find out what more is going on and what Derek's plan is."  
        Scott looks up at me once I mentioned Derek.  
        "Why aren’t you working with him on this?" Scott asks me. There was no way I could answer this without revealing the whole truth.  
        "He's a private person. There’s things about him that I know and there things I don’t."  
        “Do you trust him?” Scott asks.  
        I stop what I was doing and look at him. He was anticipating my answer.  
        “Why don’t you tell me?” I ask back. “Do you trust him?”  
        “I don’t think I do.”

***********     

       I come back from my lunch break and end up running into the Sheriff in the hallway. I smile at him as he comes over to greet me.  
        "Ms.Diana, I didn't know you worked here." Sheriff Stilinski says as he makes his way there.  
        "It's just my day job until the afternoon comes in and lacrosse practice starts. What brought you to school?"  
        "We just need to announce the curfew we set." he tells me.  
        "Curfew?"  
        "We've only been able to find half a body and a murderer is still out there."  
        "Do you have any suspects?" I ask him.  
        "We have a couple but until we find the other half of the body the list should narrow. Anyways can you remind any teenager you see and the lacrosse team to be home by 9:30."  
        "Will do, Sheriff." I tell him before entering the office.  
        I instantly grew worried about the details of the murder. Half a body was missing. No identification yet. I was running out of information about this Alpha and I didn’t know where else to look for more. Actually, there was one.  
        I decide to skip the rest of the day and lacrosse practice to come talk to the one person I’ve been trying to avoid the most. I enter the shell of the house instantly regretting my decision as I felt an enormous wave of nostalgia. I push through it as I start on the stairs.  
        "Derek!" I call out as I climbed up. "I need to talk to you.  
        "About what?" he asks me.  
        "The police have set a curfew and they're looking for the other half of the body. I was wondering if you had an ideas about the whereabouts."  
        Derek looks at me and leads me to a room upstairs. He points to what seems like a fresh buried grave. From the view up here I could see the faint spiral of the wolfsbane vine. The air had a faint smell of blood and I assumed it came from the buried body. I turn to him horrified.  
        “What the hell?” I ask him. “What are you doing?!”  
        “I’m protecting my sister.” Derek states.  
        “Your sister?” I ask him. “More people survived the fire?”  
        Derek gets a far away look in his eyes before responding.  
        “It was only Laura and I. Then we found out about my Uncle Peter but he’s a lost case. He’s in the hospital practically comatose from his injuries from the fire.”   
        I had to fight myself from letting my emotions rise. Peter was brain dead. Cora was actually dead. And Talia, my surrogate mother was dead as well. I couldn’t let him know how I truly felt about the fire and how close I was to all of them. I clear my throat as I find a response.   
        “Laura, what does this have to do with her?” I ask him. “Is she the Alpha? Are you protecting her because she’s family?”  
        “I’m protecting her because she’s dead and I don’t want her to be found.”  
        “She’s dead?” was all I could say. “Why would she…? I mean what does Laura have to do with this?”    
        “My sister was an Alpha. She came back to Beacon Hills to deal with something on her own. I haven’t heard from her for weeks and I came here searching for her...” Derek’s voice trails off.  
        “And you came back home just to find her dead.” I finish. “Another Alpha in her place with an unknown motif.”  
        “You want to know why I want the Alpha?” Derek asks me his hands balling into fists. “Because I want revenge.”  
        I grow concerned as I hear this but don’t comment on it. Instead I face the buried grave downstairs.  
        “You buried Laura in an obvious location where the police can find it." I tell him. “They’ll suspect you for killing her just by doing that."  
        “I didn't have much time. Besides the wolfsbane will keep her in her wolf form. The police can't identify a wolf."  
        “What do you mean wolf?” I ask him. “Laura turned into a wolf? Like a literal wolf?"  
        “Yeah why are you asking?"  
        I was about to answer him before I hear Scott screaming from the top of his lungs.  
        "Derek! Derek!" Derek just rolls his eyes.  
        "Stay here and don't do anything." He tells me. I wanted to argue but there was no time. I look out the window just to find Derek making his way to Scott.  
        "Stay away from her! She doesn't know anything!" Scott yells out. I assumed the she he was referring to wasn’t me which only left Allison as the prime girl of Scott’s life.  
        "Yeah? What if she does? You think your little buddy Stiles can just Google werewolves, and now you got all the answers, is that it? You don't get it yet, Scott, but I'm looking out for you." Derek then grabs his lacrosse stick from his bag. "Think about what could happen. You're out on the field. The aggression takes over. And you shift in front of everyone. Your mom, all your friends. And when they see you everything falls apart." Derek rips through the lacrosse net before throwing it to him and disappearing.  
        I turn away from the window just to find Derek back in the room. I hear Scott curse over his torn net before grabbing his bike and riding away.  
        "Dick move." I tell Derek.  
        "I'm just doing my best to protect us." he states.  
        “I don’t need protection.” I tell him. “I know how to take care of myself.”  
        Derek just rolls his eyes at me.  
        "Why don’t we just tell him everything? The kid is practically losing his mind over what's happening to him. He turns to me for answers but I can't give it to them because I'm practically clueless as well. I think Scott should know about the Alpha."  
        "I don’t think he’s ready.” Derek answers. “He'll go running in fear. I just need more time."  
        “More time for what?” I ask him. “To plan out your revenge?”  
        “To get more information.” Derek replies. “Which I’m assuming is why you came here in the first place.”  
        “We help each other right?” I ask him. Derek just nods. “Thanks for the information. When I find something out I’ll make sure for you to be the first to know.”  
        I walk out of the room letting Derek think this over. I take my car back to my house and walk in. For once, after the past week, I had an afternoon to myself and I didn't know what to do with it. I decided to push my training to now so I could relax later.  
        I changed out of my work clothes into just a sports bra and shorts. I walk down the short staircase that led to my basement. I flick on the lights to reveal a small part of my arsenal and the hanging punch bag. I walk over to my stereo and put on some music. I timed my punches with the upticks of the music. My wrapped knuckles met the vinyl covering in quick movements and before I knew it the hour was up. I take deep breaths as I stop the moving punching bag. I turn off the music and shut off the lights.  
        Two red eyes stared at me in the darkness of the basement. I quickly grab one of the weapons on the wall and throw it across the room. I hear a sizzle and a crash and the red eyes turned out to be red lights. I turn on the lights again just to find my stereo on the floor with a dagger sticking out of it. I sigh in relief as I see this.  
        I place my hand on my chest feeling my fast beating heart. Why was I so scared? Why was the wolf inside me clawing with fear? What was so…  
        The Alpha.   
        I had seen the Alpha in my run a week ago. How did I not remember? How could I forget that encounter?  
        I run up the stairs and was at my door ready to sprint to the Hale house when I open it to find Derek already on the other side of it.  
        “Are you ok?” he asks me looking at my breathless state. I just nod my head as I try to catch my breath. “Is something wrong? I heard a crash and I…”  
        “How did you hear a crash unless you’re…” I start to mindlessly say until it all clicked. “You’re still watching me, aren’t you?”  
        “You told me not to trust you. There must have been a reason.”  
        I turn my head away from him and open the door a little wider. Derek comes inside and looks around. I’m assuming he was searching for any signs of life in this house but there were none. I made sure of that.  
        “There’s a good one. Trust me.” I tell him with a small smile. This whole situation was an oxymoron and I couldn’t help but laugh at it. Derek couldn’t help but smile at that too.  
        “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you smile.  
        “Likewise,” I reply. Both our smiles drop and silence pursued us.  
        “What are you really doing here, Derek?” I ask him. “Am I still a prime suspect?”  
        “No, I don’t know...maybe.” Derek replies. “I was just driving around and I decided to stop by. I heard your heavy breathing and a crash. I assumed the worst.”  
        I laugh at his worry.  
        “I already told you. I can take care of myself.” I tell him. “Sadly, my stereo took the hit. I thought I saw… I thought I saw red eyes and my mind jumped to attack mode. Which caused me to remember why I was so scared in the first place.”  
        Derek seems interested as I said this.  
        “I saw the Alpha. The night you heard my howl. I was on a run and I saw him. He chased me around and I managed to lose him on my way here. I don’t know how I forgot about him. It just slipped my mind.”  
        “Did you find out who he has?” he asks me. I just shake my head at him.  
        “The way he looked, Derek.” I say slightly shivering. “He was more animal than human. He was so angry and his eyes...his eyes looked into mine and I knew he wanted to kill me.”  
        I could see Derek’s mind process the information. Without a word Derek makes his way out of my house. I follow after him just to find him getting in his car and driving away. I wasn’t sure where he was going and what he was doing but something wasn’t right.        
        If things got worse in Beacon Hills I might have to pack up and run again. I was just sticking around hoping that wasn't the case.


	5. Revelations

        I was doing my daily morning run through the woods. I was on my way back to the house and decided to cut through the Hale's property in order to make it to there sooner. As I got nearer I heard a low police siren and the conversation between a few officers. I quickly ran down the small hill and reached Stiles' car where Scott was watching the whole scene pan out. The grave that once held his sister was buried up and Derek was in handcuffs being led to the back of a police car.  
        "Oh crap..." I whisper. Scott who was standing in front of me jumps up in fright and turns to me.  
        "Jeez you just gave me a heart attack!" Scott shouts out. I just give him a glare as a response. "Why are you looking at me like that? What did I do?"    
        "I'm assuming you and Stiles had to do with this." I exclaim pointing at the crime scene in front of us. "You don't even know what big mistake you've made."  
       “You told me not to trust him!”  
       “I asked you if you trusted him. Not telling you.” I respond.  
       “But look what I found in his backyard, the rest of the body.” Scott states. “What was I supposed to do?”  
       “Not put him in jail!” I tell him. “Scott, you’ve made a mistake.”  
        I push past him and got closer to the police car. I notice that the officers were too occupied looking at the dug up grave to see me slip past them. I open the passenger door and get in. Derek looks up and seems surprised to see me.  
        "These kids certainly pulled a fast one on you." I mutter as I turn in my seat to face him. "Is this a bad time to say  _I told you so_?  
        "You need to get me out of this." Derek grits out.  
        "Easy there, tiger. I'm pretty sure you'll be out of jail in no time. Laura was attacked by a wolf and they'll rule her death as an animal attack. Besides you're her brother they'll find no motif for you to kill her."  
        "You better be right because I'm pretty sure Scott's going to use this opportunity to play tonight and I won't be there to stop him.” Derek sighs before his eyes met mine through the mirror. “This is when our pass cross and the responsibility falls on to you. You need to stop him from playing."  
        "He’s not going to listen to me. Like I said, teenagers rebel against authority." I answer back.  
        Derek wasn’t to happy with my response. I sigh and just shake my head in resignation.  
        "I need to leave before I get caught but... I'll try my best."  
        I was about to open the door before it swings itself open. I look up to find Stiles as the culprit. He seemed to be waiting for his turn to talk to Derek.  
        "He's all yours..." I say as I get out. Stiles then steps in and closes the door. I walk away from the police car and couldn't help but overhear their conversation.  
        " _Okay, just so you know, I'm not afraid of you." Stiles tells him._ I smirk as I hear his heart picks up the pace. Especially with Derek's glare did his heart beat faster. " _Okay, maybe I am. Doesn't matter. I just wanna know something. The girl you killed, she was a werewolf. She was a different kind, wasn't she? I mean, she could turn herself into an actual wolf, and I know Scott can't do that. Is that why you killed her?"_  
        Just his simple rambling had my head swirling. I face the police car just to find Derek glaring at Stiles.  
        " _Why are you so worried about me when it's your friend who's the problem? When he shifts on the field, what do you think they're gonna do. Just keep cheering him on? I can't stop him from playing, but you can. And, trust me you want to."_  
        After Derek said that Stiles was pulled out of the car by the Sheriff who then began to chastise him. I turn back to Scott who looked worriedly at me. I only shake my head at him before I start my run again. This time a full on sprint to my house. I needed to find a way to control Scott and that seemed impossible by the looks of it.

***************

        I had put on my uniform jacket over the gray tank top and black leggings. I sat down on the bench with all of my supplies waiting for the players to come out of the locker room. I was waiting more on Scott's appearance since I hoped to get a word in before the game. Players started to trickle out and lastly Scott made his way through.  
        "Scott, come over here for a sec..." I call on him. He hesitantly comes over throwing his gear on the ground.  
        "You gonna try to convince me not to play?" Scott asks me.  
        "I can't really stop you if you set your mind to it." I tell him. "I just hope you know what you're doing."  
        "If I don't play, I lose first line and Allison." Scott replies. I sigh as I realize the "high" stakes for him.  
        "You're doing this for the girl and your popularity." I translate. "Well those things will be there after this game. One game that you really don't need to play."  
        "I wanna play! I wanna be on the team. I wanna go out with Allison. I want a semi-freaking normal life. Do you get that?" Scott exclaims at me. Just hearing his confession made me realize how relatable his situation was with mine.  
        "I get it, Scott. I totally understand that." I sigh out. I couldn't believe I was actually failing in the one task that Derek gave me but I had no choice. "Last minute advice try not to worry too much while you're out or get too angry. Control your breathing. Don't push your physical extent. And if you feel yourself shifting just fake an injury and come to me. The ice I have packed should snap you out of the wolf state."  
        "Got it." Scott states determinedly. Coach blows the whistles and the players huddle towards him. I pat Scott on the back before sending him on his way.  
        "Good luck, Scott" I tell him. I sit back down on the bench and face the field. "You're going to need it."  
        Jackson walks past me and I grab him before he could get on the field.  
        "How's your shoulder?" I ask him.  
        "It's fine." he shrugs off.  
        "You feel any pain?"  
        "No." he states. I wasn't to convinced with his fast recovery but I didn't find any detection of lying.  
        "Ok so go out there and if you feel any pain. Anything at all..."  
        "Keep playing." Jackson says cutting me off.  
        “No. That’s actually the exact opposite…” I start to tell but he runs off before I can say anything. Now I knew the rumors of him were true. He was a real douche.  
        The game started and the seat beside me is quickly taken by Stiles. The game went on and it seemed that everyone avoided passing the ball to Scott. At some point Jackson had pushed Scott out of the way so he could get to the ball. We were scoring but the opposing team still caught up to us and had managed to get ahead by two points. From the sidelines I could see Scott getting angry.  
        "Oh, this is not gonna be good." Stiles sighs out as he points out a poster. It had  _We Love Jackson_ and was being held by Lydia and the one and only, Allison. Not only was that the interesting part but Allison's father was sitting on the stands watching the game.  
        "If anything goes wrong I swear I'm pinning this on you." I whisper to Stiles.  
        "Why me?" he asks back.  
        "Because you're part of the reason he's playing."  
        I see Stiles gulp beside me. I turn back to the field to find Scott breathing heavily. This was certainly not a good sign. Before I could even get a word in the game had started up again. Scott immediately catches the ball from the air and manages to dodge his way through the field. In a matter of seconds he scored and the crowd went wild. I of course clapped but remained worried to the Scott's new change of pace.  
        "McCall! Pass to McCall!" Coach shouts out. The game starts again and one of the opposing players seems to pass it to Scott. By then I was past worried and into stress mode.  
        "Did the opposing team just deliberately pass us the ball?" Finstock says sitting on the other side of me.  
        "I believe so, Coach."  
        "Interesting." he states. My grip on the bench tightened.  
        "More like terrifying to me..." I mutter under my breath.  
        "Goal! Yes! Yes! There you go!" Coach shouts out as Scott's makes another goal. This time the ball had went through the net of the goalie's stick. I look over the cheering crowd in hopes of Allison's father not noticing this. From the way he looked he seemed to be catching on.  
        The score was tied now and there were only a few seconds left for the game to end. I watched them pass to McCall and from his stance I saw how he prowled. In the last few seconds Scott manages to throw it in and win the game.  
        Stiles jumps out of his seat and begins to cheer. The whole crowd starts to run onto the field congratulating everyone. I knew I had to hide Scott from everyone since he seems to have shifted but the crowd kept on pouring in. By the time I was able to get on the field I couldn't find him. I turn back to the bench to find Stiles and his father talking.  
        "Dad, what's wrong?" Stiles asks him. Sheriff Stilinski hangs up the phone and turns to him. I turn away from them and act like I'm packing up as I eavesdropped their conversation.  
        "The medical examiner looked at the body we found. They determined the killer of the girl to be an animal."  
        "Did you I.D. the girl?" Stiles asks him.  
        "Yeah and it excuses Derek from the tampering of the body." the Sheriff answers.  
        "So who was it?"  
        "Her name was Laura Hale. She's Derek's sister."  
        "Both halves?"  
        "Yes both halves, Stiles!" the Sheriff exclaims. "I'll meet you in the car once you're done celebrating."  
         The Sheriff walks away and I give him a small wave as he passes by me. I grabbed my packed bags and cooler and face Stiles.  
        "You heard all of that, didn't you?"  
        "Of course I did." I answer.  
        "And you knew."  
        I nod at him which causes Stiles to waves his arms dramatically. “Why didn’t you tell us?”  
        “Because I didn’t know you two were going to go on and do that!” I reply. “Besides it’s not my place to tell.”  
        Stiles didn’t seem convinced with my answers but I wasn’t going to change them.  
        "Now go on and tell Scott the news and find a way for Derek not to kill you for your little stunt."  
        I could hear Stiles try to stammer out a response but he was practically speechless. His heart was beating fast with fear. I finish packing my things and look up to find Derek across the field. He makes his way towards me.  
        “A good game so I’ve heard.” Derek states. "Scott played pretty well."   
        I roll my eyes at him.  
        “I did the best I could.” I answer. I make my way to my car with all of my equipment and start to put it in my car. I look over at him and close my trunk. “Kids will be kids.”

***********

         _The night was falling quicker than I expected. I make my way through the memorized path of the woods. The Hale house wasn’t too far from here. Cora told me I could just walk in whenever I wanted to since she usually came home pretty late._  
         _The woods open up to a clearing with the freshly painted house. Some kids were playing in the front yard and I could hear the chatter from their nearby mothers. From what I knew they were first cousins to Cora’s who were visiting. I waved hello to them before entering the house._  
         _Talia peaks her head out of the kitchen and smiles at me._  
         _“Diana! I’m glad to see you again!” she says as she walks over and hugs me. "It's been to long."_  
         _I smile at her embrace. As quickly as it came, it was gone. She smelled like my mom. Or that might be something my mind made up. I wasn’t sure yet._  
         _Talia seems to notice where my thoughts strayed to and sadly smiles at me._  
         _“You know you’re always welcome in our home.”_  
         _“So I”ve been told,” I respond. Talia then leads me into the kitchen where she has a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I greedily grab one which causes Talia to smile._  
         _"So how was your day?" she asks me as she continues to cook._  
         _With my mouth full of melted chocolate I answer her question._  
         _"It's been ok. I'm getting used to it here. I even got a job interview for this new animal clinic not to far from here so that's exciting."_  
         _"You like animals?" she asks._  
         _"I love them." I state. "If it was up to me I would live in a zoo so I could just be near them."_  
         _Talia laughs at that. Laura just walks into the kitchen looking a bit stressed out._  
         _"Believe me, animals aren't that loving." Laura states as she plops down next to me. "Animal psychology is weird, and I need it for my psychology major which doesn't make sense, and I don't get it which is weird since I'm practically a bloody..."_  
         _I look at her wondering what she was going to say next but she quickly closes her mouth. Talia seems to give her a warning glare but Laura ignores it. I decide to change the subject since the tension was getting heavy._  
         _“So how long till Cora gets here?”_  
         _“Who knows?” Talia responds going back to her normal self._  
         _"Well she should be careful." I tell them grabbing my "last" cookie. "It's a full moon tonight."_  
         _They both stare at me with concern._  
         _"What do you mean by that?" they both ask._  
         _"It's a full moon," I say with a shrug of my shoulders. "They say that's the night more 'lunatics' roam the street. Even my dad tries to keep me indoor on these nights because he thinks I could be attacked or something..._ _“_  
         _Talia gives me a small smile while Laura let's out a sigh._  
         _"Well Cora should be here any second._ _She’s always doing something healthy activity before coming home. It’s Tuesday which means she’s probably doing yoga or swimming at the pool. Depends on how much time Derek gives her.”_  
         _“Ugh,” I state. “She’s out there doing her thing while I’m here eating junk food. I’m so pathetic.”_  
         _“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with eating! In fact I encourage it!” Talia exclaims. The atmosphere come back to normal as she says this. Laura and I laugh at that and I finish another cookie._  
         _“Yeah, but that’s because you're a mom and you're supposed to believe in that stuff.” I reply. “One thing is for sure though,  when track season comes into view, I’m going to regret this.” I tell her. Talia was about to ask me about that before we heard a racket at the front door. That was Laura's cue to go to her room while I stayed behind. I could distinctly hear Derek’s talk of basketball, Cora’s quiet string of insults, and...my brother’s annoying voice. All of them walk into the kitchen and Marcos’ eyes land directly on me._  
         _“I thought I told you to go home.”_  
_“And I thought otherwise.”_


	6. Trust Me On This

        I walk into school a little earlier as usual. Usually Isaac came by during this time for me to help him take care of his wounds. He wouldn’t talk about what happened but he always came to me for help. Today was one of those days that he didn’t come in. It must have been a good night or his father didn't come home.  
        I remain in my office cleaning the place up as I wait for the day to begin. All of a sudden a familiar face appears at my door. She looks at me with a blank expression and I let out a sigh as I see her.   
        "Ms. Ross." she states as she walks in. "That's your name now right? As a sister of mine."   
        "Deaton did warn me I would cross path with you." I state as I stand up from my chair. "Hello,  _sister._ "   
        Ms. Morell laughs at my response and I smile at her. We both hug each other seeing it's been years since I last saw her.   
        "I'm just glad you're here. My brother needed someone to get him back to his old ways."  
        "What do you mean?" I ask her.  
        "Didn't he tell you?" she asks. "He's retired. After the Hale fire he stopped practicing. Been keeping his nose out of the supernatural since then. I'm glad you're bringing him back to what he's meant to be doing."   
        "Right..." I trail off. "About that. Your brother... I mean our brother lied to me and we're not in speaking terms."   
        Marin becomes silent as she hears this and her happy attitude quickly disappears.   
        "What do you mean?" she asks.  
        "He didn't tell me about the Alpha in town." I tell her. "I came here blinded by this nutcase running loose. I didn't want any part of this and he knew that."   
        "Our brother needs your help."   
        " _Your_  brother could have asked me nicely. Instead he tricked me into moving here."  
        Marin just shakes her head at me and motions me to follow her.   
        "Let me show you to what our brother  _tricked_ you into."   
        She leads me out of my office into one of the open window hallways. She points out the window and I turn around to find a disastrous scene. I look out into the parking lot to find a bus that had the back door torn out. Every seat and window was splattered with blood. I could see the deep scratches of the Alpha decorating the interior. I take a deep breath as I hear a slow heartbeat inside.   
        "Alan needs your help. Our brother needes you, an Alpha and a Hunter, to stop him from doing this again." Marin holds her hand out to me and reveals a burner phone dialing 9-1-1. She places it in my hand. "It's up to you whether you want his help or not to find the Alpha."   
        She leaves me standing in the hallway, phone at hand, with the light heartbeat from the inside of the bus. I look back at scene in front of me and place the phone next to my ear.   
        " _Beacon Hills County, what's your emergency_?" a toneless voice asks.   
        "Hi, there seems to have been an attack at the high school. Someone is severely injured. I think...I think he's barely alive. Please send an ambulance." I say with a mocking tone of fear.  
        I hang up and throw away the phone in the lost and found. I look at the scene in front of me once again and hear the distant sounds of a police siren and an ambulance. I cross my arms and make my way back to the office. 

***********

        I tapped the pen on the white desk in front of me. It was rush hour outside in the halls and I closed my eyes trying to concentrate on a single voice. Boys and girls were gossiping about their weekend but I wasn't interested in that. I searched for one beta's voice and I finally caught it.   
        They were just about to pass my office and I quickly grab both boys shirts and drag them inside. Scott and Stiles turn to me scared and finally relax once they saw it was me.  
        "Jeez, you and Derek just know how to scare the shit out of me." Stiles mutters as he sits down on a plastic chair holding onto his chest. I roll my eyes at him.  
        "If you two would just listen to the adults here we wouldn't have a problem." I state. "But I'm not here to scream at you. I just need to know something."   
        "Know what?" Scott asks. I let out a sigh and close the shutters in my room.   
        "I need to know if you were a part of what happened in the bus."   
        Scott and Stiles look at each other unsure of what to say.   
        "I don't know... I just..." Scott stammers out.  
        "Tell her about the dream, man." Stiles states. I look at Scott waiting for him to elaborate.  
        "Ok, I kind of had a dream... about Allison, this is really awkward. I'm saying this to a teacher."  
        "I'm not a teacher. I'm a nurse. Besides I'm like what...5 years older than you. Just think of me as your older sister."  
        "I think that makes it worse." Scott replies.  
        "I agree with him there." Stiles pipes up. I give both of them a glare.  
        "Tell me the dream, Scott."  
        "Fine... It was me and Allison. We were in the bus, making out, doing things...and I just started to shift. I tried to get away from her but she was worried about me. Once she saw me in my wolf form she started to run away and I attacked her."   
        "But you didn't kill her, did you?" I ask him.   
        "No, of course not. I just saw her a few minutes ago and she's fine." Scott replies.   
        "Yeah but that's not the point. You didn't kill anyone in that dream of yours, right?" I ask him.  
        "I don't know. I just woke up. And I was sweating like crazy and I couldn't breath... But I didn't do anything, right? It was probably just some animal in the bus that got in the way and I just dreamt it was Allison." Scott asks with a hopeful voice. I knew that his theory wasn't true but I wasn't going to tell him yet.   
        "Sure, Scott. I'm pretty sure that was it," I sigh out. Both teenagers look at me suspiciously as I said this. "Get to class, kiddos. That's all I needed to hear."  
        Scott and Stiles reluctantly say goodbye and leave. I sit down on my chair and sigh. There was only one other person who could tell me what happened. Who had all of the answers that I was looking for and I really didn't want to call him.   
        "Hey, Diana. I didn't expect you to call." Deaton states once he picks up. I remain silent for a while waiting for something to say but I couldn't think of anything. "Is everything alright?"  
        "Another person was attacked." I state. "This time at the school."   
        I hear a scuffle in the line but Deaton soon speaks up.   
        "Are you ok? Is Scott alright?" he asks.   
        "Yeah we're both fine. Everyone's fine except for that bus driver. It got me thinking...I just...was the Alpha directing this to me? Does he know who I am? Does he know I'm the other Alpha?"  
        Deaton remains silent and I realize he didn't know either. I let out a sigh and rub my forehead nervously.  
        "Derek would know more about this." Deaton states. "I would ask him."   
        "Fine." I state reluctantly. "I'll call him right now."   
        The line goes silent again. We both didn't know what to say to each other. I was still upset and he knew it too.   
        "Be careful, Diana and please take care of yourself."   
        I just nod my head even though he couldn't see it.   
        "You too, Deaton."   
        I hang up and wait a while before dialing Derek's number. It dials for a while and then goes to voicemail. I sigh in relief and anxiety. I needed to know more about this attack but I didn't want to talk to Derek for the information. The robotic woman's voice speaks up and Derek just speaks up drily into it.   
         _"The number you have called belonging to **Derek Hale** is unavailable at this moment. Please leave a message after the beep." _  
        Beep.   
        "Lovely voicemail. Screams out you." I say sarcastically. "But moving on from that, there's a situation at the school. The Alpha attacked some bus driver in the parking lot. It's a police circus out there with forensics and detectives trying to find out who did this and why. I've spoken to Scott he doesn't know if he did this or not but I'm sure he'll want to find out soon."   
        I didn't know what else to say and I knew time was running out for this message.   
        "I'm actually glad you didn't pick up because you would ask dumb questions that I would have to answer. Just call me back if you know anything."   
        I hang up and in a matter of seconds my phone rings. I quickly answer it.   
        "The Alpha attacked at the school?" His monotone voice asks. I roll my eyes at his question.   
        "And that's exactly what I meant for stupid questions." I sigh out.   
        "I mean it. Did the Alpha attack someone at the school?"   
        "Yes, Derek. That's literally what I said. And why are you calling me right after I left the message? Did you ignore my phone call?" I ask him annoyed.   
        "Unlike you, who spends her days playing doctor, I'm searching for clues as to who the Alpha is."   
        I scoff in return.   
        "Unlike you, I'm trying to act normal so I won't get discovered." I state. "Should I remind you that you've been under the police suspect list twice now because of how you act?"   
        "You can't blame me for Scott and Stiles framing me for murder." Derek replies.  
        "You're right. I should blame your stupidity for burying your sister in an obvious location." I exclaim. I could feel my claws under my nails and I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Derek was silent on the other line. "I'm sorry. I'm upset and I lashed out."   
        "It's fine." Derek growls back.   
        "Getting back on track," I say ignoring his angry tone. "The Alpha attacked at the school and I was hoping you could tell me if this meant something...towards me."   
        "I don't understand what you're asking." Derek states. I sigh and think back to something my father had taught me about wolves.   
        "You know how wolves, mainly Alphas, are territorial of their terrain. That they can't be two Alphas in the same area. What if this is the Alpha's way of marking his territory against me? What if he knows who I am? Where I work at? Where I live?"  
        Derek remains silent to my questions.   
        "I need to know if I've been found out. You're the only one who knows about me. Scott hasn't found out yet which means Stiles hasn't either..." I explain. "I ran into him in the woods. He chased me but I lost him. He shouldn't know about my real identity."   
        "I don't know what to tell you Diana." Derek states. "You could be right and he might know about you. He might be trying to scare you off from his territory, but you could be wrong. This could be about Scott."   
        "I don't understand...why would he target Scott?" I ask him.   
        "Because the Alpha turned him. He's trying to claim him for his pack and so far Scott is refusing him."   
        "I don't want him getting hurt, Derek." I state. "He's just a kid."   
        "You can't protect him from this world forever." Derek states. "He'll eventually have to face this."   
        I remain silent as I realize the similarities of Scott's and mine's situation. I ended up turning into the one thing I hated the most, a Hunter. I don't know how Scott would turn out.   
        "Well there's no harm in trying, isn't there?" 

*************

       After school ended, I made my way to my house deciding to skip lacrosse practice. Coach had made sure to play safely since he didn't want any more of his star players getting hurt. That meant I wasn't needed as much. I change into a more relaxed attire and was ready to start my work out early when I hear a knock on the door. I make my way to the front door and hear the Sheriff's dry cough behind it. I let out a shaky breath as I open the door.   
        "Oh, hello Sheriff." I say acting surprised to see him. "What can I do for you?"   
        "I stopped by Deaton's to ask him some questions about the attack at the school." The Sheriff starts off. "He gave me vague answers and directed me to you. He tells me you know about these things."   
        I retained myself from rolling my eyes for Deaton's act. He might as well expose me now.   
        "Yeah, I guess you can say that." I tell him. "I know a thing or two about these things. What do you need help on?"   
        "I don't really agree on asking regular citizens but you seem to know what you're talking about." Sheriff states. "May I come in?"   
        I nod and let him through.   
        "I'm sorry you look like you were about to do something." he says as I show into the living room.   
        "I was just about to go for a run." I tell him. "So show me the pictures. I'm assuming that's what you need to help with."   
        "Right," he says as he scatters the pictures around the table. "Sacramento couldn't determine an animal."   
        I look over them and notice the familiar signs. The deep cuts and lacerations that only a rabid animal could do. I sigh as I inspect them closer.   
        "I'm not exactly an expert..." I tell him. "and I overheard that Laura's body was found with wolf hairs, am I correct?"   
        "Yeah, you're right." Sheriff states.   
        "But wolves are migratory and I haven't seen any of them in these woods." I tell him trying to dismiss the idea. "But those hairs had to get there somehow..."   
        "Deaton said that wolves sometimes migrate due to strong impulses or memory. Long-term memory."   
        "He's right of course." I tell him. "You see this right here," I tell him pointing at the claw marks. "A wolf would have gone for the throat or the spinal cord with it's teeth, not his claws."   
        "So what do you think? Is it a mountain lion?" he asks.   
        "I don't know." I state feigning cluelessness. "A wolf could chase down its prey, hobbling it by tearing at the ankles. And then the throat."   
        Sheriff seems convinced by this.   
        "How does a young woman like you know all of this?" he asks me.   
        "A lot of free time, online courses, and a brother who knows a thing or two." I tell him. "I worked for Deaton when I was younger so I know about animal psychology."   
        Sheriff Stilinski just nods at me and picks up the pictures again.   
        "Thank you for your help." he states. I walk him to the door and wave goodbye to him as he drives off.   
        I lock up my house and grab my phone and earbuds. I place them in my pocket and begin to run the short distance to the Hale house. I make my way there at the exact moment a patrol car drives off. I see Derek on the second floor and quickly make my way towards him.   
        "You do know that people usually knock on the door before they come in." Derek says at the top of the stairs. I roll my eyes at him as I made my way up.  
        "I know but your door can barely be considered as a door." I reply. "Why was there a police car outside your house seconds ago?"   
        "Why was the Sheriff's car in front of yours?" Derek answers back. I dryly laugh at that.   
        "Still watching me I see." I tell him. "Don't have anything else to do except look through the peeping hole of my life?"   
        "I'm just making sure you're who you say you are." Derek answers.   
        "Sure." I tell him. "And have you found anything?"   
        Derek remains silent and I roll my eyes at him again.   
        "Whatever, it's not like I care anyways." I tell him. I turn away from him and hear Scott running in.   
        "I know you can hear me. I need your help." Scott states from the front yard. I look over at Derek and we both make our way downstairs. Derek steps out and then I do. Scott looks at me surprised but didn't question it.  
        "Okay... I know I was a part of you getting arrested and that we basically announced you being here to the hunters, I also... don't know what happened to your sister. But I think I did something last night. I had a dream about... someone.  But someone else got hurt. And it turns out that part of the dream might have actually happened." Scott explains to Derek.  
        "You think you attacked the driver?" he ask Scott.  
        "Did you see what I did last night?" Scott asks back.   
        "No." Derek answers.  
        "Can you at least tell me the truth, both of you?" Scott asks us. I turn to Derek who doesn't offer a response. Scott takes this as an answer to go on. "Am I gonna hurt someone?"  
        "Yes." We both answer.  
        "Could I kill someone?"  
        "Yes."  
        "Am I gonna kill someone?" Scott asks.   
        "Doubt it." I tell him.   
        "Probably." Derek answers intercepts with mine. I look at Derek in disbelief. He really wasn't softening the punches.  
        Scott leans on the porch worriedly when he hears both of our responses. I push Derek towards him in hopes that he'll show his compassionate side.  
        "Look, I can show you how to remember. Diana and I can show you how to control the shift, even on a full moon. But it's not gonna come for free." Derek tells him.  
        "What do you want?" Scott asks us.  
        "You'll find out. But for now, I'm gonna give you what you want. Go back to the bus. Go inside. See it, feel it. Let your senses- your sight, smell, touch...let them remember for you." he instructs.  
        "That's it? Just...just go back?" Scott asks him.  
        "Do you want to know what happened?" Derek responds back.  
        "I just want to know if I hurt him." Scott answers.  
        "No, you don't. You want to know if you'll hurt her."  
        Scott doesn't offer a response after Derek said that. I decided to give him an exit before Derek began to give him a speech as to why he should stay away from Allison.  
        "Go back to the school, Scott. Once you find out anything you give me a call, ok?"  
        "Yeah, sure..." Scott says walking out.  
        I watch him leave before I turn back to Derek.  
        "Why are you so blunt?" I ask him. "He's just a kid, Derek!"   
        "Because there are things he needs to know." he tells me. "We can't keep him out of everything!"   
        "He's not ready for it." I tell him. "Not yet. What I think you should tell him is that you didn't bite him. That you're not the Alpha. He still thinks you're the culprit."   
        "And your his trusted mentor." Derek states. "If I reveal that I'm not the Alpha, then I reveal what you are. And that's going to break the trust you have with him. He's going to blame you for what happened to him."  
        "Why do you care about Scott's and I's relationship?" I ask him. "If you don't trust me wouldn't you want to destroy what he trusts in me?"   
        "Because you two have a bond. I don't understand it but he looks up to you. If I take that away then there's no way he will trust me."Derek states emotionlessly. I could see he was trying to figure me out but that was impossible.   
        "Scott and I, we just clicked." I tell him. "I understand his situation since I've been through something like that before. He knows I will protect him at all costs. That's why he trusts me, Derek. And if you want him to trust you too then you should show him that you want to protect him too. And I would start in softening some punches and letting some go."   
        I walk out of his porch and take up on my run again. A new direction in the horizon. 

       


	7. Late Night Confessions

        I was just about to start cooking dinner when there's a knock on the door. I groan as I walk over to it and open it. In front of me was Derek Hale with his usual scowl.  
        "What do you want?" I ask him. "I'm about to make dinner so it better be good."   
        "I need you to come with me somewhere." Derek states.  
        "Descriptive," I sarcastically say. "But I'm busy so unless it's very important..."  
        "It's about the Alpha."  
        I lean my head on the door thinking over his proposal.   
        "You're trusting me now? After all this time?" I ask him. Derek just scoffs at me. I shake my head at him and grab my jacket off the coat hanger and walk out of the house. "Whatever, you're buying me dinner."  
        Derek just shakes his head at me and leads me to his car. He screeches out onto the main road and drives in a very high speed. I had to grip tightly at the door handle when he made an abrupt turn to a gas station.  
        "I need to put gas. Pay thirty bucks and buy your dinner while you're at it." Derek says throwing his wallet at me. I roll my eyes at him as I grab his wallet.   
        "So charming." I tell him as I head to the empty gas station. "Thirty on number 2. And charge me this beef jerky while I look around the store." I grab the oddly satisfying stick and begin to eat it as I scout the store. I grab a bag of chips and a soda from the fridge before paying for it at the cashier. I was just about to step out when I saw two cars pull surround Derek's Camaro. I stay put recognizing the people as they stepped out.  
        The Argents.  
        I didn't even need to have a clear view to know who was leading them. Chris Argent. Knew him when I was younger but that was it. I doubt that he remembers me or any of my family. One thing was for sure though. If I stepped out this moment they would know what I am. So as much as I didn't want to leave Derek alone in this, I did. Derek puts up the pump and turns to me. He seemed to read my mind and quickly turns away. I just gave him a worried glance before I heard Argent speak up.  
        "Nice ride. Black cars though... Very hard to keep clean. I would definitely suggest a little more maintenance." Chris Argent then reaches for the windshield cleaner. "When you have something that nice, you wanna take care of it, right? Personally, I'm very protective of the things I love. That's something I learned from my family. You don't have much of that, these days... Do you?"  
        I cringe as he says that. I turn to Derek and find him clenching his fist. I was worried to what trouble he would get himself into.  
        "Derek, if you're listening to me right now...stop. He's taunting you. He wants to get this reaction from you. Don't let him win. Please, Derek. You can't let him win." I whisper.  
        Luckily Derek unclenches his fist. I sigh in relief as I see his shoulders drop. Chris drops the subject as Derek gets the warning he was sending.  
        "There we go..." Chris says putting the windshield cleaner up. "You can actually look through your windshield now. See how that makes everything so much clearer?"  
        Derek doesn't offer a response and Argent just walks up to his car. I was about to head out of the station before Derek just had to get the last word.  
        "You forgot to check the oil."  
        Chris turns back to him.  
        "Check the man's oil."  
        One of his lackeys then walks over to Derek's car and breaks through the driver's window.  
        "Look's good to me." He responds before walking up to his car. Argent just smiles at him.  
        "Drive safely." Is all he says before getting in his car and leaving. I just shake my head as I walk up to the car. Derek cleans off the broken glass from his seat and starts up the car.  
        "Don't say a word." He mutters as I get inside.  
        "Wasn't going to." I reply. "I'm just glad you listened."   
        Derek doesn't say anything and drives out of there with his usual speed and before I knew it we were at the hospital. Derek gets out quickly and I follow after him.  
        "What are we doing here?" I ask him.  
        "Getting answers."  
        "At a hospital?"  
        Derek turns to me. I could sense he was still upset from the encounter at the gas station and more so with my unending questions. But I wasn't going to back down. I needed to know Derek's plan and he wasn't much of a sharer.  
        "You wanted me to trust you, right?" Derek asks. I don't answer. Derek just sighs. "Trust me on this and I might consider trusting you."   
        Derek then walks into the hospital. It was pretty busy tonight which made it easy for us to sneak in. Derek leads me into a room and I turn to find the bus driver that had gotten attacked. He had cuts and scrapes all over his face. He seemed unconscious or so I thought.  
        "Open your eyes...Open your eyes!" Derek demands. The driver does so. "Look at me. What do you remember?"  
        "Hale..." the bus driver merely responds. I look at the man curiously and turn to Derek who seemed upset more so than usual.  
        "How do you know my name?" Derek asks him.  
        "I'm sorry..."  
        "How do you know me?" Derek asks again but the bus driver lays back down and closes his eyes.  
        "I'm sorry..."  
        Before I knew it he begins to flatline. Derek grabs him and tries to wake him up.  
        "How do you know...?"  
        "We have to get out of here. Now!" I say as I grab Derek and pull him off the driver.    
        "He knows something. He knows..." Derek says looking down at him.  
        "Well he's dead. He doesn't know anything." I hear someone running down the hallway. I knew it must be a nurse who had just noticed her patient dying. I push Derek to the window in which he luckily gets my idea and jumps through. I follow after him and he leans on his car. I knew he wasn't over what happened at the room. I grab the keys from his hand and push him to the passenger door.  
        "You're in no condition to drive." I say as I walk over to the driver's seat. "Hell you shouldn't even be driving in your right mind. You're horrible."  
        Derek doesn't say anything as he stares right through the window. I drive over to his house in which he mindlessly gets into. I follow after him unsure of what to do. I've never seen Derek this way. Only known him for a few weeks but still he always seemed balanced. I didn't know why the bus driver took so much of a toll with him.  
        "Derek..." I whisper as I enter his house. I walk up the stairs and find him in one of the bedrooms. If memory was correct this one was Laura's.  
        "Leave me alone." he states. I stand in front of him not so easily scared from his tone.  
        "No, you need someone." I tell him. "I know you don't trust me but please... you can't be alone. Not tonight. Not in this place."   
        "I said, GET OUT!" he shouts. He grabs me and pushes me into the nearby wall. I flinch in pain. My anger was something I focused on balancing. Pushing me into a wall, pushed me over the edge. I let out a silent scream and had a hard time controlling my rising anger. I touched my shoulder and felt how it was dislocated. Just the mere pain I felt made it hard for me to focus on my emotions. Having another voice included in the mix made it hard for me to concentrate.   
        "Derek! I know you're here! I know what you did!" I hear Scott distantly shout out.  
        "I didn't do anything." Derek replies. I lean against the wall as I try to place my shoulder back into its place.  
        "You killed him!" Scott shouts out.  
        "He died..." Derek's voice echoes in the house. I gasp as I felt my shoulder move into a different location. I felt the salty tears on my lips. I didn't even know I was crying until this moment.   
        "Like your sister died?" Scott asks him.  
        "My sister was missing. I came here looking for her!" Derek answers. I push my arm against the wall in hopes of popping it back in. Derek ignored me as he focused on Scott's accusations. I kept on slamming myself on the wall in hopes for it to pop in but it was getting harder. The pain was becoming to much for me and I felt myself slowly shifting. My wolf wanted to come out and heal herself but I couldn't let her out. The transformation and my dislocated would make the pain unbearable.  
        "You found her." Scott tells him.   
        "I found her in pieces! Being used as bait to catch me!" Derek shouts. I cry out in fear as I felt my body stretch and shrink for it's formation. My bones shifted in different places and my dislocated shoulder wasn't helping with this.   
        "Derek..." I whisper but it only fueled on the Scott's accusations as he heard my call.  
        "Diana? Are you killing her too?" Scott asks him. "I think you're the killer. I'm going to tell everyone. Starting with the Sheriff."  
        I groan as I feel my canines get into place. Derek runs out of the room and I hear him push Scott down the stairs. I hear Scott let out a growl before I hear crashing come downstairs. I fall onto the floor and start gasping as my body tries to heal itself and shift. Distantly I hear the fight continue which made me even more angrier than I was before. Before I knew it my clothes where left tattered all around the floor and I jumped downstairs in my wolf form.  
        I find Derek and Scott, wolfed out, fighting with each other. Strangely they were both equally matched until Derek got the upper hand. I quickly ran towards him and jumped. Derek didn't see me coming which made it easy for me to push him down. I then turned Scott who tried to use this to his advantage and attack Derek. I growled at him and scratched his chest before he could step closer to me. Scott drops to the ground and breathes heavily.  
        I take a step back and look at both of them. They were both now human. I walk over to the other room and find Derek's leather jacket on the floor. I make my way under it and shift back to normal. I zip up the jacket, which luckily reached mid-thigh, and enter the room. Both of them seemed to have recovered.  
        "He didn't kill him, Scott. Neither of us did! It's not your fault, it's not his fault, and it's not mine!" I tell him.  
        "This? This is all his fault! He ruined my life!" Scott shouts at Derek.  
        "No, I didn't!" Derek responds.  
        "You're the one who bit me." Scott continues to accuse.  
        "No, I'm not!" Derek shouts back.  
        "What?" Scott asks confused.  
        "I'm not the one that bit you!" Derek finally reveals. He turns to me waiting for me to chime in. I clear my throat and look at Scoot. I find him looking at the scratch on his chest and he seems to remember something. He falls onto the couch taking deep breaths.  
        "There's another..." Scott sighs out.  
        "It's called an Alpha. It's the most dangerous of our kind. You and I, we're betas..." Derek tells him. I then step up.  
        "I'm an Alpha," I tell him. Scott looks at me confused. "But I'm not your Alpha and you know that don't you?"   
        Scott nods at me and I knew that he's seen the Alpha too.   
        "This thing is more powerful, more animal than I am." I remind Scott.   
        "My sister came here looking for him and now, I'm trying to find him. But I don't think I can do it without you." Derek tells him.  
        "Why me?" Scott asks.  
        "Because he's the one that bit you. You're a part of his pack. It's you, Scott... You're the one he wants." I tell him. Derek and I share a look and I've come to realize why he had been so honest with Scott. He had to prepared for what was coming and keeping him in the dark about what he is or what was going on was going to get him killed.   
        "Help us with tracking him and we'll teach you how to control you shifts." 

***********

         _I find myself on the other side of the forest. I shivered as snow fell from the sky. I knew that I would most likely get hypothermia if I didn't get to the car soon. I hoped that I could stay a wolf for a while longer until I ran out of this state. I hoped that I could just stay a wolf and live off my days like this but fate said otherwise._  
         _I made my way to our parked cars and got in. I hot wired it, like I've done with so many other cars before, and quickly drove off. I grab the bag in the back with my spare clothes and put them on. I continue to drive and only stop to change the license plate of the car and hot wire another. This time tears fell from my eyes as I drove out of the state of Massachusetts. I had to get out of here. I had to._  
         _I cried harder as I realize what almost happened. After all we've been through, losing our mother, the Hale fire, becoming a Hunter, they were ready to kill me. I hit the steering wheel harder and before I knew it I felt a growl past my lips. I look up my rearview mirror and find my red glowing eyes reflected back on me. I take a deep breath and another until I calm myself down. Control. I need to find control. I drop the car after a few more miles and grab the runaway bag._  
         _ID's._  
         _I need another ID._  
         _I grab one of the many._  
         _Margaret Channing._  
         _That's who I am now. Or for the time being._  
         _I ditch the car and enter the bank. I sneak in with some sorority girls which I easily blended in with and parted ways when I came to the one of the bank reps._  
         _"Hi, what can I help with you today?" the lady asks._  
         _"I'm Diana Cruz." I tell her saying my real name. "And I'm 18, I believe my mom left me some money when I became a legalized adult. I'm here to collect."_  
         _The lady just nods and grabs the real documents from my hands. The one's that had my real name. My real social security. My real birthday and state I was born in. Every piece of information that once defined me._  
         _"Well Ms. Cruz you're one rich girl. Your mother left you with half a million dollars. I hope you use that wisely."_  
         _I nod and sign the many documents she was handing me._  
         _"Would you like us to keep it in your bank account or..."_  
         _"Cash please." I tell her. "All in cash."  
_

_***********  
_

       Scott had left minutes ago with a heavy mind. Derek was left behind to clean the mess he made. There was wood scattered across the floor where Derek had been thrown through. I stayed behind just watching him make a pile of trash as he ignored me.  
        "Are you going to keep on refusing my existence or are you going to man up and talk to me?" I ask him. Derek drops the wooden planks angrily at the floor before he faces me.  
        "Why didn't you tell me?" he asks. "That you turn into a wolf? Like Laura did. Like my... Why didn't you tell me?"  
        "It never came up." I answer. "Besides you've been watching me. I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner."   
        "Why did you hide this from me?"  
        "Because I didn't want you to know!" I shout at him. "You watch me 24/7 because you don't trust me. How am I supposed to trust you with the biggest secret I have?"  
        I cross my arms and walk up to him.  
        "We agreed on working together when our path's crossed." I remind him. "And I was keeping my end of our deal. You're the one who makes this relationship into something it isn't. I'm not here looking for a friend, far less a boyfriend. I'm not here for you or for myself. I'm here to protect Scott from the hell storm that's coming this way. So I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings for not telling you about my biggest insecurity. I got bit and I turn into a freaking wolf. How crazy is that?"  
        Derek remains silent.  
        "Do you have any idea of why I turn into a wolf?" I ask him. "Because I've been asking myself this question for the past three years as I run from state to state for my little piece of the world and I've found nothing."    
        Derek looks up at me with his usual blank expression and seems to pity me at this moment.  
        "The women in my family have been known to turn into them when they become Alphas." He replies. "Are you some distant relative I don't know about?"  
        "No, we're not related." I tell him. Derek then shrugs his shoulders and continues to clean up.  
        "Then I have no idea why you do."  
        I let my hands run through my hair as a sigh escapes my lips. I wipe the tears away from my eyes and clear my throat. I tried to recover the small shred of dignity that I still had.   
        "You lost control because of me." Derek states. "I'm sorry."  
        "It's fine..." I tell him. "You pissed me off which is hard for someone to do. Unless you're annoying or rude, mostly when you push me against a wall in a fit of rage."  
        "I said I was sorry." Derek says looking back at me. I just gave him a small smile.  
        "And I forgive you." He seems to relax after I said this. "The least I owe you for having a mental breakdown just a few seconds ago."   
        Silence once again settles in the broken house as we just stare at each other.   
        "I should probably leave..."  
        "But your clothes...?" Derek asks me.   
        "Are all ripped to shreds. Do you mind if I keep this for tonight?" I say motioning to his jacket. "I'll dry clean it and return it to you tomorrow since, you know, Derek Hale can't live a day without his leather jacket."  
        Derek for once laughs at my joke.  
        "Sure..." Derek answers. "But I wouldn't mind if you kept it. You look good in it."   
        I smile as I pull the jacket closer but I quickly drop it.   
        "I'll swing by tomorrow to give it to you...or not." I tell him. "And don't flirt with me, Hale. I'm not one of your fangirls."   
        Derek seems to smile at that but in the darkness of the night it was hard to tell. I walk out of his house and make my walk home. The leaves crunching under my bare feet. The woods seemed lonely tonight but as I walked through it I felt like I was being watched and not in a good way.


	8. Magic Bullet

        There was a persistent knock outside my bedroom slide door. I internally growled as I dragged myself out of my bed and paddled across my room. I parted my curtain and found Derek staring at me. I sigh, unlock the door, and slide it open.   
        "If this is about your stupid jacket it's right there" I mumble as I point to the sofa near him. I wipe the sleep out of my eyes and cross my arms at him. Derek still stayed in place.  
        "The Alpha's out tonight." Derke states.   
        "And how do you know?" I ask him. "It's 2 in the morning, Derek. Why would he be out there this early?"   
        "I don't know but it's in his pattern." Derek states. "I just need you to come with me."   
        "What for?" I ask.  
        "Because if we do find him tonight then I'll need your help in bringing him down." I sigh and turn away from the door. "Aren't you going to help me?"   
        "I'm not running around Beacon Hills with my pj's on. I have  _some_ dignity." I tell him. I grab some of my running clothes and a pair of tennis shoes and quickly put them on. I look back to find Derek's back facing me and I smile at this but I quickly brushed it away as I step out of my house and lock the door. "Lead the way."   
        We started sprinting through the woods until we reached main roads. From there on it was all relying on instinct. All relying on the inner wolf that was ready to defend herself. I smell blood from the beast himself and make my way towards it. Derek and I find ourselves near the abandoned buildings at the edge of town where shipping crates still laid around.  
        "You follow him on the roof." I tell Derek. "Lead him down to me and I'll catch him at the bottom. We'll trap him in the corner and he won't be able to get out of there unless he's dead."   
        Derek just nods at me before climbing up. I start sprinting at the sides waiting for Derek to lead the Alpha to me but before I got the chance to get to the final stop I hear a few gunshots and then a howl. I quickly duck down and slow down my breathing. I look around searching for the shooter but found none. It must have been a rifle.   
        The Alpha seeing a hunter out here seems to have caused him to disappear and I'm left hiding behind a shipping crate. I grab the phone out of my pocket and look around my surroundings. I start to call Derek ready to go back home.   
        " _You didn't tell me there would be a hunter out here tonight."_ I say after the beep. " _Shots have been fired and I can't be found out. They can't know there's another Alpha in town. I'm sorry I had to cut this short. Call me back when you get this."_  
        I hang up and slowly jog around the building. I put the hood on from my jacket and was about to cross the street when a car drives in. I quickly hide behind a crate. I recognize the familiar smell of gunpowder and silver. Argents.   
        "Get in." Chris states as he walks over to her. I look at the woman's face. She looked familiar and from the gun hanged around her shoulder I knew she was another hunter. I lean back on the wall trying to connect Chris and this women together. I knew her from somewhere I just didn't know where.  
        "Not even a  _hello,_ _nice to see you_?" she asks him.   
        "All I've got at the moment is please put the assault rifle away before someone notices." Chris replies back.   
        "That's the brother I love." she states. I freeze as I recognize the sarcastic tone.  _Kate Argent._ I knew her and she knew me but that was six year ago. "Chris, there were two of them."  
        "The Alpha?" he asks her.   
        "I don't know, but one of them tried to kill me."   
        "One of them is gonna lead us to the other. He can't do that if he's dead." Chris states annoyed.   
        "Well, I can't help kill either of them if one  of them kills me first."   
        "How long will it take?" Chris asks.   
        "Give him 48 hours...if that." Kate replies with a shrug of her shoulders before getting into his car.  Just her saying that made me worried to what she meant. What would take 48 hours? I wasn't able to figure that out as  I caught another familiar scent. I find Scott about to pass me and I quickly cover his mouth and drag him into my hiding spot. Kate and Chris drive away which made it safe for me and Scott to talk. I pin him on the wall which causes him to look at me scared.   
        "Are you freaking kidding me right now, Scott?" I whispered/shouted at him. "First of all it's a school night. Second of all, you're sixteen and shouldn't be out here at this time of night. Third of all, don't you know there's a serial killer around town killing people and he wants you to help?!"    
        "I'm sorry... it's just that I heard a gunshot that woke me up and it lead me here." Scott tells me.   
        I roll my eyes at him and let him go.   
        "I can't believe...forget it." I mutter as I start to walk away.   
        "You can't believe what?" he asks me. I turn to him a bit annoyed.   
        "I'm trying to keep you safe, Scott. You can't be running out here in the middle of the night because curiosity got to you. I can't chase the Alpha down and keep you safe at the same time."   
        Scott just nods.   
        "I'm sorry. I really am."   
        "I know you are." I tell him. I push his shoulder and motion him to follow me now that the coast was clear. "Now let's get you home."   
        We both start jogging down the road making sure to hide in the shadows. I look over my phone hoping to see some text or missed call from Derek but I find none. I let out a worried sigh and switch my phone off. 

***********

       I rolled my chair across my office to the file cabinet. I place the file I had taken out earlier back in its place. There were only a few more minutes until school ended and I sighed in relief. I had to go check in at Derek's. He hadn't called me back after our search for the Alpha and I was growing more worried to his distance. I also needed to know what Kate meant about 48 hours. I took of my white coat and grabbed my bag ready to leave this place early before Jackson walks in.  
        "What can I do for you, Jackson?" I ask him as I sit back down.  _So close to getting out..._  
        "Need some gauze and tape." He tells me as he points to his neck. I look at it to see nail like incisions. It wasn't that that scared me it was the scent that it was giving off. It was a wolf inflicted wound and I froze as I thought back at Scott.   
        "Who did this to you?" I ask him quietly as I grabbed the disinfectant and the gauze.   
        "Some guy looking for you and Scott..." Jackson replies as I clean up the dry blood. "I don't know what drugs he's selling but he looked like hell."  
         I stop as I hear this. I grab the bandaid box and hand it to him. This can't be happening. Not here and not to him.   
        "Hey! Where are you going? You need to heal me." Jackson says as I grabbed my bag and head out.  
        "You're a smart boy, Jackson. You're more than capable of taking care of yourself."  
        Jackson just scoffs and was about to threaten me but I walk out of my office. I had to push myself through the crowd of kids who were leaving for the day. I [searched for Derek](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=172707283) through the crowd but couldn't find him anywhere. It wasn't until the honking from the cars in the parking lot that showed me Derek's location.   
        Laying on the ground was Derek Hale. Stiles' car was blocking everyone from leaving which was causing the whole chaotic scene. Stiles gets out of his car and I make my way towards them. I kneel down beside him placing his head on my lap. Derek was pale and sweating. His eyes had bags under him and his breathing was shallow.          
        "Oh my God." Stiles shouted as he reached us.  
        "What did you do? Run him over?" I ask him.  
        "I wish! He just came out of nowhere." he answers. Scott seeing the commotion heads over to us.  
        "You've gotta be kidding me. This guy's everywhere..." Stiles exclaims.  
        "What the hell? What are you doing here?" Scott asks him.  
        "I was shot." Derek answers.  
        "No..." I whisper as I look him over. "Please tell me you weren't the one she shot."    
        Derek doesn't respond as he drops his head on my lap. From what I could see he was exhausted and I was getting worried as to why. I started to look over his symptoms hoping I could find out how to cure him.   
         "He's not looking so good, dude." Stiles tells us. The cars continue to honk behind us and people were starting to stare.  
        "Why aren't you healing?" I ask him.  
        "I can't. It was... it was a different kind of bullet." Derek answers.  
        "A silver bullet?" Stiles asks. I give him an annoyed look.  
        "No, you idiot." Derek answers.  
        "I'm glad you're snarky attitude hasn't changed." I mutter. I place my arm on his forehead feeling the high fever. His cold sweat was another bad sign. An infection. He was infected and it was making him sick pretty quickly.  
        "That's what she meant when she said you had 48 hours."  
        Scott and I look at each other as we both said that.   
        "What? Who... who said 48 hours?" Derek asks us but I decide not to answer. Scott on the other hand does.   
        "The one who shot you." Scott answers. Derek sits up and his eyes flash blue. "What are you doing? Stop that!"  
        "He can't, Scott!" I shout at him.  
        "Derek, get up!" Scott yells at him. Derek manages to sit up and puts his right arm around me. I help him stand up and I feel his weight entirely on me. Scott comes to his other side and helps me carry him.The honking hasn't stopped this whole time. "Help me to put him in your car."  
        I shake my head at him.  
        "My car's across the parking lot in the faculty's lot. Stiles' car will have to do."  
        "I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used." Derek tells Scott as we put him in Stiles' jeep. I take the back seat as Stiles takes the drivers.  
        "How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Scott asks him.  
        "'Cause she's an Argent. She's with them." Derek responds.   
         "Why should I help you?"   
        "Because you need me." Derek answers.  
        "Can't I just have you teach me?" Scott asks as he turns to me. Derek turns to look at me and I look away. In that moment I understood why Derek relied on me heavily. I turn to Scott who was waiting for an answer.   
        "You know how I said I would protect you..." I tell him. Scott nods and I continue. "The same applies to Derek and I need your help."   
        Scott looked unsure with this but gives in.   
        "Fine. I'll try." Scott states. He then turns to Stiles. "Hey, get him out of here."    
        "I hate you for this so much." Stiles mumbles as he starts the car. I turn to Scott and throw him my keys.  
        "Gray Mercedes G Class in spot 27." I tell him. "You better drive it carefully. No scratches and hurry!"          
        Scott runs out of there and Stiles drives out of the parking lot.    
        "Where did you get shot, Derek?" I ask him.  
        "Why do you need to know?" Stiles asks me.  
        "Hello... nurse on board. I take care of wounds." I answer. I turn back to Derek who's taking of his leather jacket.  
        "Hey, try not to bleed out on my seats, okay?" Stiles exclaims. I slap him on the head which causes him to mumble angrily about being some chew dogs for werewolves or something like that... I roll my eyes at him but the sight of Derek's blood-soaked shirt caught my attention. His arm was the source of the wound.  
        "I literally dry-cleaned this for you and now you bleed on it. Jesus, Hale..." I muttered.  
        "Well honey, I didn't mean to but I can't avoid being shot." Derek growls out. I was about to reply with a sarcastic remark of my own when Stiles turns to us annoyed.   
        "Didn't want to interrupt your lovers spat but we're almost there."   
        "Almost where?" Derek asks him.  
        "Your house."  
        "What? No, you can't take me there." Derek exclaims.  
        "I can't take you to your own house?" Stiles asks us.  
        "Not when I can't protect myself." he answers.  
        "Well Diana's right here and she's an Alpha. I'm sure she'll protect you just fine.   
        "I can't risk Diana in this. The Argents are searching for me and they can't know about her."  
        I give a thankful glance at Derek which causes him to look away. Stiles pulls off to the side of the road. I look at him confused but he seemed pissed off.   
        "All right. What happens if Scott doesn't find your little magic bullet? Hmm? Are you dying?" Stiles asks.  
        "Not yet. I have a last resort." Derek sighs out.  
       "What do you mean? What last resort?" I ask him. Derek rolls up his sleeve and shows us the wound.   
        "Oh, my God. What is that? Oh, is that contagious? You know what, you should probably just get out." Stiles exclaims.   
        "Stiles!" I shout out.  
        "Start the car. Now." Derek growls out.  
        "I don't think you should be barking orders with the way you look, okay? In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could probably drag your little werewolf ass out into the middle of the road and leave you for dead."  
        "Good luck going through me first!" I threatened back. Stiles just scoffs at me and stubbornly sits back on his seat.   
        "Start the car or I'm gonna rip your throat out...with my teeth." Derek tells him.   
        Stiles just sighs and seems to contemplate going against the both of us. He then looks back onto the main road and turns on the car.   
        "That's what I thought." I whisper. Stiles just gives me a sarcastic smile and we start to drive again. Destination unknown. 

************

        We drove practically in circles before Stiles pulls off the road again. It was dark outside and Stiles starts to call Scott for an update but he kept on ignoring the calls. I turn back to Derek and from the small first aid kit I carried in my bag I started to clean him up the best I could. The black veins from the bullet seem to keep on spreading along his arms and I got worried to what that meant. I grab a hold of his hands against mine which causes Derek to look up at me confused. My hand moves up feeling the dark veins under my palm. I close my eyes ready to take away his pain but Derek pulls away.   
        "What are you doing?" he asks me.   
        "I'm trying to make you feel better." I answer.   
        "Don't." he states. He pulls down his sleeve and leans away from me.   
        "Why not?" I ask him. "You need this."   
        "I can infect you..." Derek gasps out. I shake my head at him and was about to argue but Stiles finally getting Scott to answer his phone stop any further conversation.   
        "What am I supposed to do with him?" Stiles asks loudly.  
         _"Take him somewhere, anywhere."_  
       "And, by the way, he's starting to smell."  
        _"Like...like what?"_  
       "Like death." Stiles replies. I smack him on his head and he cries out.  
       _"Okay, take him to the animal clinic."_  
       I stop as I hear that.  
       "What about your boss?"  
       "He's gone by now besides he owes me." I tell Stiles. He looks at me curiously. "There's a spare key behind the dumpster. Start driving and I'll show you."        
        Stiles then turns to Derek who didn't even have the energy to eavesdrop.  
        "You're not gonna believe where he's telling me to take you." Stiles tells him as he hands Derek the phone. Stiles pulls out of the curb and starts to drive to the Clinic.  
       "Did you find it?" Derek asks him.  
        _"How am I supposed to find one bullet? They have a million. This house is like...the fricken Walmart of guns."_  
       "Look, if you don't find it, then I'm dead, all right?" Derek tells him.  
        _"I'm starting to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing."_  
       "Then think about this. The Alpha called you out against your will. He's gonna do it again. Next time you either kill with him or you get killed. So if you wanna stay alive, then you need me to stay alive. Find the bullet." Derek tell him before hanging up.  
       "Nothing..." he whispers. Stiles stops the car at the Clinic. We both step out. Stiles helps Derek to the front door while I go grab the spare key. I walk back and take over Derek as Stiles opens the door.  
       "Does Northern blue monkshood mean anything to either of you?" Stiles asks as he gets a message from Scott.  
       "It's a rare form of wolfsbane." I answer. I recognized the poison to werewolves and now it all came to place as to the limit of time that Kate set up. "He has to bring us the bullet."   
       "Why?" Stiles asks.  
       "Cause I'm gonna die without it." Derek answers.  
       Stiles finally opens the door and I help take Derek in. We stumble a bit until we finally reach the examining table. Derek takes off his shirt which left me a bit stunned. Not only did he have the most beautiful green eyes but a body to match with as well. I forced myself to turn away trying to gain control of my distracted mind. I took a deep breath calming my heart rate before I faced him again.           
       "Okay. You know, that really doesn't look like anything some echinacea and a good night of sleep couldn't take care of." Stiles says looking at the more infected wound. I start to look at the cupboards hoping to find anything to stop the spread of the infection. The medicine locker was locked with a key only Deaton had which limited my choices.   
       "When the infection reaches my heart, it'll kill me." Derek tells us.   
       " _Positivity_ just isn't in your vocabulary, is it?" Stiles asks sarcastically.   
       I chuckle as I continue to rummage through the cabinets. I knew whatever medicine I found  wouldn't be helpful but it was a temporary aid for his wound. Derek starts to search for things as well but for a completely different reason.  
        "If he doesn't get here with the bullet in time... last resort." Derek says pushing past me he reaches down and pulls out a handsaw.  
       "Which is?" Stiles asks. Derek turns to Stiles and places the saw in front of him.    
       "You're gonna cut off my arm."


	9. Last Resort

        Stiles and I look at each other in shock. I start to shake my head at him trying to process what he just told us. Derek couldn't be serious. This couldn't be his "last" resort. There has to be something else.   
       "Oh my God. What if you bleed to death?" Stiles asks him as he recovered.  
       "It'll heal if it works." Derek tells us.   
        "You can't be serious." I tell him. "Derek you're going on a limb here! Pure speculation!"  
        "Stiles, you have to do it." Derek states ignoring me.    
       "Why can't she do it?" he asks me. "Diana's a nurse. You take care of wounds. Take care of his wounds."  
       I just shake my head at him.  
        "No, I'm not cutting of his arm." I state. I shake my head nervously and take nervous breaths. This was not how things were supposed to go. I wasn't supposed to be here at the animal clinic trying to save people. My job was to hunt down the Alpha and kill him.   
        Derek takes to consideration my shaky state and slides the saw to Stiles.   
       "You're doing it." Derek states more strongly. "I have other plans for her. She's going to hold me down while you do it."  
        I sigh in relief and grab the light blue latex wrap and start to tie it onto Derek's arm. Simple things like this I could do. Cutting off an arm, not so much.   
       "Ugh. Look... I don't know if I can do this." Stiles sighs out.   
       "Why not?" Derek asks him.   
       "Well, because of the cutting through the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and especially the blood!" Stiles exclaims.  
       "You faint at the sight of blood?" I ask him.  
       "No, but I might at the sight of a chopped off arm!"  
       "All right, fine. How about this? Either you cut off my arm or I'm gonna cut off your head!" Derek says handing him the saw. I walk up to him and tighten the rubber band on his arm.  
       "Okay, you know what, I'm so not buying your threats any...oh my God." Stiles exclaims as Derek clutches his shirt and growls at him. "Okay. All right, bought, sold. Totally. I'll do it. I'll do it."  
       Derek then turns to me and grabs my hand with his good arm. I place my other hand on his shoulder as Stiles looks down at the saw. I look into his eyes trying to assure him that everything was ok. Derek just holds my hand tighter. Before we could do anything Derek leans over the table and begins to puke.  
        "What? What are you doing? Holy God, what the hell is that?" Stiles asks pointing at the black liquid on the floor.  
        "It's his body trying to heal itself." I tell him.   
        "Well, it's not doing a very good job of it." Stiles responds. I look at Derek nervously and he looks determined as he leans on the table.  
        "Now. You gotta do it now." Derek coughs out. Stiles turns on the saw and I look back at Derek.   
        "Look, honestly, I don't think I can."  
         "Just do it!" Derek and I both shout out.  
        "Oh my God, okay. Oh my God. All right, here we go!" Stiles says placing the saw on his arm. I turn to Derek who's just staring back at me.  
        "It's going to be ok. Just look at me. Everything is going to be ok." I tell him. "I'll take away your pain and you will feel nothing, you hear me? Everything is going to be fine as long as you focus on me."   
        Derek's eyes shine blue and I felt mine shine red. I stop talking as this happened, neither of us looking away. Both of our eyes went back to normal as the sound of the saw fills the room. I take a deep breath anticipating what was to come.  
       "Stiles! Diana!" Scott shouts as he runs in.  
       "Scott?" Stiles asks as he puts down the saw. I turn to him in relief.  
       "What the hell are you two doing?" Scott asks as he see's our current predicament.   
       "Oh, you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares." Stiles responds.  
       "Did you get it?" I ask him. Scott nods and pulls out the bullet. Derek reaches for it. I recognized the familiar bullet. I've used them a couple of times in my previous hunts. Something switched inside me as I thought of all the damage I had done with one single shot.   
       "What are you gonna do with it?" Stiles asks him.  
       "I'm gonna... I'm gonna..." Derek says but before I knew it he dropped the bullet and fainted to the ground. The bullet falls into the drain and Derek is laid out on the ground at the brink of death.   
       "No. No, no, no, no." Scott shouts out as he launches himself to the floor. I drop down the ground next to Derek. I let Scott try to reach the bullet while Stiles and I focus on waking up Derek.  
       "Diana what were we supposed to do?" Stiles asks turning to me. I tried to find an answer. Something to console both of them but nothing came to mind but the truth.   
       "I have no clue. I'm not the expert, he is!" I shout. "I just know we need the bullet."  
       "I can't reach it." Scott mumbles as he looks down at the drain.  
       I turn to Derek knowing I had to wake him up.  
       "You know CPR, right?" I ask him. Stiles nods. "Then do it!"  
       Stiles quickly kneels down and starts to pump at his chest. I check his pulse which was faint.  
       "Derek. Derek, come on, wake up." I mutter as I slap his face but there was no reaction.  
      "He's not waking up." Stiles says as he stops. He then checks his pulse. "I think he's dying. I think he's dead."  
       I turn to him and take a deep breath. I wasn't going to let Derek die on me like this.  
       "Stiles if you don't start up the CPR again, I'm going to make you do the mouth and mouth resuscitation." I tell him. Stiles eyes seemed to pop out of his head and he starts the CPR again. I push my hair aside and look down at unconscious Derek.  
       "Please don't kill me for this."  
       I grab his head and place my lips on his. I push the air from my lungs to his. Stiles continues to get his heart back up as I pull up for more air. I go back down and try to get his lungs to start up again. I was about to pull away again but I felt a tug at my hair and warm air pass my lips. After that Derek's lips moved against mine and his tongue made his way into my mouth. I couldn't help myself but kiss him back but soon realize my mistake. I pull myself out of his hold, a slight blush on my cheeks, and help him sit up.  
       "Oh! I got it! I got it!" Scott shouts out pulling out the bullet from the drain.  
       "Give me!" Derek says as I pull him off the floor. He leans on the table as Scott gives him the bullet. Derek then literally bites the bullet open revealing the powder inside, he lights it on fire, scoops it up in his good hand, and quickly pushes it down the open bullet wound. Derek shouts out in pain and falls onto the ground again. I kneel down beside him and he lets out a growl. I tried to get a hold of him but he didn't let me near him. The infection of his arm disappears and Derek sits up on his own.  
       "That... was... AWESOME!" Stiles shouts out. I only rolled my eyes but turn to Derek. I check his wound again only to see it heal itself.  
       "Are you okay?" I ask him as my arms trail the non-existent wound. I felt no pain to take away which made me sigh in relief.   
       "Well, except for the agonizing pain." Derek sarcastically answers. I just glare at him and take a step back, crossing my arms.   
       "I'm guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health." Stiles mutters.  
       "Okay, we saved your life, which means you're gonna leave us alone, you got that? And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad and I'm gonna tell him everything." Scott threatens.  
       "Scott that isn't a good idea." I tell him as my attention turned to him.   
       "Why not? I trust you but him..." he says pointing at Derek. "I don't. We're both better off with the Argents."  
       "You're gonna trust them?" Derek asks him. "You think they can help you?"  
       "Well, why not? They're a lot freaking nicer than you are." Scott replies.  
       "I can show you exactly how nice they are." Derek tells him.  
       "What do you mean?" Scott asks.  
       I turn to Derek not knowing what his plan was.  
       "We're taking your car." is all he says as he grabs his shirt and jacket before walking out. I turn to Scott who just hands me the keys.  
       "What about me?" Stiles asks.  
       "You get to clean up..." I tell him as I pass him. I could hear him mumble profanities as we left the room. Any time I would have laughed at that, but after all that's happened today, I couldn't find the energy to laugh. 

************

        Derek drives us to a nursing home. I turn to him a bit disturbed but I don't say anything. I had an idea as to why we were here. As usual we sneak into some patient's room. The light's were off and in the corner of the room there was a man in a wheelchair. He didn't move when we came in.  
       "What are we doing here?" Scott asks him.  
       "You'll soon find out." I tell him.  
       "Who is he?" Scott asks motioning to the man.  
       "My uncle. Peter Hale." Derek responds. I've never met Peter but all I could feel as I saw him in the wheelchair was nauseating guilt.   
       "Is he...like you, a werewolf?" Scott asks him.  
       "He was. Now he's barely human. Six year ago, my sister and I were at school, and our house caught on fire. 11 people were trapped inside. He was the only survivor." Derek answers.  
       I never really knew what happened after the fire. I was there that night and I made sure to forget the nightmares that came with it. I now knew the extent of the damage and I couldn't help but dig myself deeper in the darkness of my mind.   
       "So... what makes you sure that they set the fire?" Scott asks referring to the Argents.  
       "Cause they're the only ones that knew about us." Derek answers. I take a deep breath knowing that wasn't true. Derek looks at me concerned but I just close my eyes trying to gain control of myself.  
       "Well, then... they had a reason." Scott replies. I just shake my head at him. That's something Marcos used to tell himself to justify this. I'm pretty sure in the end that was what drove him to seclude himself from my father and I. I snap out of that thought as Derek turns the wheelchair. One side of Peter's face was normal. The other side was badly burned. I look away not being able to handle this anymore.  
       "Like what? You tell me what justifies this. " Derek asks. "They say they'll only kill an adult and only with absolute proof. But there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. This is what they do. And it's what Allison will do."  
       I put a hand on Derek's shoulder in order to calm him down but at that point it was to late. A nurse walks in obviously hearing Derek's shouts.  
       "What are you doing here?" she asks. "How did you get in here?"  
       "We were just leaving." I tell her. I grab a hold of Scott and Derek and pull them out. I turn back to Peter one last time and the guilt that I already had, multiplied.

**********

       I dropped off Scott at his house and was now on the way of mine. Derek was sitting beside me in silence. He hadn't said a word this whole car drive and I didn't blame him. We finally make our way to the woods. I shut off the car and turn to him.  
        "You almost died." I state. Derek just rolls his eyes at me. "You almost died and it would have been for some stupid attempt to reach the Alpha."   
        "Are you trying to tell me to stop?" he asks me.   
        "I'm trying to tell you that you almost died because of an obsession you have with the Alpha. I know you want to avenge your sister but to what cost? Your life?"   
        "Now look who's making this relationship more than it is." Derek states getting out of the car. I angrily get out and slam the door in the process.   
        "You started this." I state. "You're the one who's changing what this is!"   
        Derek just scoffs and continues to walk away.   
        "YOU KISSED ME!" Derek freezes as he hears this. "You were the one who kissed me in the first place."  
        "You kissed me back." Derek states turning to face me. I take a deep breath and shrug.   
        "So what I kissed you back? It was in the spur of the moment. You just came back from the dead and I was there. You didn't mean it and I, for sure, didn't mean it." I say crossing my arms.   
        Derek looks down at me suspiciously and I match his gaze.   
        "How do I know you're not lying?" Derek asks. "I can't even hear your heartbeat."   
        "I'm heartless, Derek." I answer. " I don't feel anything. Not anymore."   
        I make my way to my front porch and unlock my door. I thought our conversation was over but Derek speaks up one more time.  
        "Now I know you're lying..." Derek states. I laugh coldly.   
        "Derek, just stop..."   
        "I know you're lying because a heartless person wouldn't have defended me to opposing odds. A heartless person wouldn't gotten so scared for my life. A heartless person wouldn't have risked getting infected taking care of my wounds. A heartless person  _WOULDN'T_ have kissed me back."   
        I look back at him and sigh.   
        "Believe me, Derek. If I'm not heartless then I'm something much worse."   
        Derek doesn't say anything which was a good thing. I wouldn't have known what else to say to convince him to stay away. I give him a small smile before entering my house and locking it. I let out a sigh and let my heart beat fast in the silence of my home. One question remained in mind.   
         _Why did I kiss him back?_


	10. Repercussions

       I watched everything from above. Patrol cars and an ambulance surrounded the video store. I saw the Sheriff try to calm down an angry Jackson while Lydia sat in the ambulance frozen. Both showed signs that they saw the Alpha but were to upset to say anything. Derek and Scott were beside me as the scene continued to unfold in front of us. A covered body was taken out in a gurney. Another person dead because of the Alpha.  
       "Starting to get it?" Derek asks Scott.  
       "Uh, I get that he's killing people, but I don't get why. I mean, this isn't standard practice, right? We don't go out in the middle of the night murdering everyone, do we?"  
       "No, of course not. We're predators. We don't have to be killers." Derek states.  
       "Then why is he a killer?" Scott asks.  
       "That's what we're gonna find out." I answer before walking away from the scene. I stop as I see something drawn on the roof's floor. I follow it and find a giant swirl painted. I didn't have much time to connect the dots as Derek called after me.  
       We drove back to the Hale house were Derek leads the way in. Scott grudgingly follows and I remain silent as Derek makes his way up the stairs.  
       "You know, I have a life too." Scott tells us.  
       "No, you don't." Derek replies.  
       "Yes, I do! I don't care what you say about him making me his pet or..."  
       "Part of his pack." I correct him. Scott seemed to get more annoyed as I said this.  
       "Whatever. I have homework to do. I have to go to a parent/teacher conference tomorrow because I'm failing chemistry."  
       "You wanna do homework? Or do you wanna... not die?" Derek asks him. I put myself in between them hoping that they wouldn't break out fighting again.  
       "Come on, Derek. Give the kid a break."  
       "He has less than a week until the full moon. If he doesn't kill with the Alpha, the Alpha kills him."  
       "Okay, seriously, who made up these rules?" Scott remarks.  
       "It's a rite of passage into his pack." Derek answers.  
       "Rite of passage." I repeat. Derek just rolls his eyes as I made sense of this.  
        "You know what else is a rite of passage? Graduating from high school. And you don't have to kill anyone to do it! Why can't you just find him yourself? Why can't you just sniff him out when he's a human?"  
       "Because his human scent could be entirely different." I answer.  
       "It has to be you, Scott. You have a connection with him. A link that you can't understand. If we can teach you to control your abilities, you can find him." Derek tells him.  
       "So if I help you - you two can stop him?"  
       "Not without the other. We're stronger in numbers. A pack makes the individual more powerful." Derek states. He looks over at me and I slowly realize what he was referring to. I look away from his stare and turn to Scott.   
       "How am I supposed to help if I have no idea what I'm doing?" Scott asks.  
       "Because we're gonna teach you. Do you remember what happened that first night you were shot in the arm - Right after you were hit?" Derek asks him.  
       "Yeah, I changed back."  
       "And when you were hit by his car, same thing, right?" Derek asks him. Scott just nods.  
       "What's the common denominator, Scott?" I ask him. Scott just shrugs. Derek then steps down of the stairs and grabs Scott's arm.  
       "Derek, don't do it..." I say taking a step towards him but I was too late. Derek grabs his hand and starts breaking it. Scott falls onto his knees and cradles his hand.  
       "What the hell are you doing?" Scott groans out in pain.  
       "It'll heal." Derek answers.    
       "It still hurt!" Scott shouts out. I kneel down and place his fingers back in place so they could heal faster.   
       "And that's what keeps you human - Pain." I tell him. I give him an apologetic glance. Derek looks down at him as his hand heals. Scott flexes it and looks up at him with a glare.  
       "Maybe you will survive." Derek states before walking up the stairs. I help Scott stand up and lead him through the front door. Before I exited the house I look up at the empty staircase. Ever since I talked to Derek we've been distant which should be a good thing but for some reason it isn't. I push my feelings away and leave the house. I turn back to Scott and mess up his hair as I lead him to the car.  
       "Come on Scotty. Let me take you home."  
       Scott reluctantly sits on the front seat as I take the driver's. I pull out of Derek's house and take the long winding road out of the forest. Scott sighs loudly as he looks out the window.  
       "I know this is a lot to take in and that Derek's pretty vague...what am I kidding, he's vague all the time, but that's not the point. I mean, I'm sorry you were dragged into this, kid. If there was something I could do, just tell me."  
       "Why are you so nice to me?" Scott asks. "Derek is so mean but you... you're really nice."  
       I smile at the question but I shake it off of my face.  
       "What you're going through right now reminds me of something I went through when I was your age." I answer. "I did something for a few years that I now regret. I didn't think it was bad since they told me it was in my blood to do it but now that I think back to it, it was the worst decision of my life. I just want to help you into not making the same mistakes I made."  
       "And what mistakes are those?" Scott asks. I turn away from him and face the road.  
        "Having guilt over something you had no control of."   
        "Are you talking about becoming a werewolf?" he asks me.    
        "No, it's about something else entirely." I answer.   
        Scott just nods his head and luckily doesn't ask further about the subject.  
       "Scott?" I call out to him as I glance at him.   
        "Yeah, Diana?" he calls back.  
       "Just so you know... I sucked at chemistry too." Scott laughs after he hears this which automatically lightens the mood. I smile at myself for at least bringing some peace to this night.

**************

        _I let my head fall onto the desk. The book my head lands in functions as a pillow and I let my eyes close. I hear a distant giggle and I immediately knew the source of it._  
       _"Please leave me to die in silence." I mutter as I push myself out of the book. I turn to Cora who had taken her usual seat beside me. The class was slowly trickling in._  
_"Oh so that's what dying looks like. Interesting." Cora jokes. I try to push her off her seat but she manages to catch herself on the desk. "Rude!"_  
_"Sorry but I don't do well with people who make fun of me." I answer. Cora just rolls her eyes._  
_"Whatever." She says as she opens her Chem book. "So are you coming over tonight to study?"_  
_I turn to her questioningly._  
_"Isn't their a basketball game tonight?"_  
_"Yeah, so..." Cora responds._  
_"So...aren't you supposed to be there cheering on your brother?" I ask her._  
_Cora just rolls her eyes at me again._  
_"Derek already has a crowd of cheering girls for him. I don't think he needs me there too."_  
_"What did he do now?" I ask her. I knew she wouldn't have answered that way if Derek hadn't done something to piss her off. Cora just turns to me as she answers._  
_"He was snooping on my phone. I don't know what he was looking for but he was definitely snooping on my phone."_  
_I scoff at that._  
_"Are you serious? What did he do when you caught him?"_  
_"He lied. I asked him what he was looking for and he just shrugged his shoulder and said 'nothing'. I told my mom about it but she just told me it was probably Derek's way of seeing if I was dating someone. So Derek got out without a punishment."_  
_"Well that's a dumb excuse." I reply._  
_"Yeah, tell me about it." Cora says turning back to the book. "So, are you going to the game?"_  
_"I don't really have much of a choice. Marcos wants me in sight 24/7 and I think going to the game is his secret, non-secret, way of doing it." I answer. "Besides I have a duty as a Derek fangirl to be there." I joke. Cora just gags as she hears this._  
_"Eww that's gross. Don't joke about that." Cora says with a shiver. I laugh at that._  
_"Oh, so it's ok for you to go crushing on my brother but just one time I mention Derek, one time, and you react like this."_  
_"Ok number 1, your brother is really cute and charming. Number 2, Derek is my brother and after what I told you, he's the enemy. Number 3, well since it's a good reason, a great reason in fact, he's_ _my brother_ _."_  
_I just shake my head at her._  
_"You're crazy." I tell her. "My brother is far from cute and charming. He's a control freak."_  
_"A cute control freak." Cora states._  
_"And your brother is a cute snooper." I reply. That shut Cora up as she glared at me. I laugh at her reaction which unluckily caught the attention of Mr. Adams._  
_"Ms. Cortez, if you could for one second stop amusing yourself with Ms. Hale here, you might actually learn something from this class. It's obvious that your C+ isn't going to be rising anytime soon with that behavior of yours. Something I'll be able to talk to your father about in Friday's teacher/parent conference."_  
_My lighten behavior returns to sour. I slump down in my seat as he finishes his little speech. I drop my head onto my book again ignoring his lesson in covalent bonds._  
_Yup, this is me dying here._

**********

       I was eating lunch in the teacher's lounge. Ms. Morrell was in lunch duty which left me alone with Mr. Harris. He talks to me about something "interesting" about his life. I sat there trying to not stab myself with my plastic fork as he talked about his day. Something he said though did catch my attention.  
       "Jackson seemed distracted today in my class." Adrian asks me.  
       "It's about what happened last night's, isn't it?" I ask as I lean into the table wanting to continue the conversation. Mr. Harris realizing my newfound interest keeps on going.  
       "Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't be surprised if he needed medical attention with the way he looked. Mentally or physically, he seems unstable."  
       "Did he mention what he saw...?" I ask him.  
       "It isn't my place to ask him. In fact, he's refused to go make a police statement about what happened." Adrian tells me. I grab my phone out of my pocket and send Derek a quick text referring to what Adrian told me. He responds pretty quickly saying he'll check in on it. While this happened, Mr. Harris continued to talk to me.    
       "Parent/teacher conferences are tonight. I'm assuming you'll be there." he tells me. I turn to him with a questioning look.  
       "Do I have to?" I ask him. He takes a sip of water before responding.  
       "Well parents tend to like to talk to the whole staff tonight. They want to make sure that their kids are in capable hands." Adrian answers. "You weren't busy tonight, were you?"  
       "No, I wasn't." I reply as I grab my things and throw them away. "So what time do I have to be here?"  
       "6:3o. I could give you a ride..." he starts to offer but I cut him off.  
       "I'm capable of driving." I answer as I make my way out of the door. I slip out of the lounge without another word to Mr. Harris and head back to my office. In the comforts of the empty room I let out a groan.   
       I ignore my last minute responsibility for tonight and focus on the day ahead. Everything seemed to be going normally until Derek steps into my office and locks it. He then closes the blinds and faces me. I give him a look as I push the file at hand away.  
       "So, I talked to Jackson..." Derek states.  
       "And?" I ask him.  
       "He didn't see anything. No heart accelerations. No lying." Derek answers.  
       "But he acted scared, right? Jackson must at least know something." I tell him. Derek just shrugs his shoulders.  
       "Jackson did witness a murder." Derek states. "He's just some teenage boy afraid of his own shadow."   
        I nod as I put the file away and face him.   
        "I'm sorry, Derek. About how I reacted the other night." I tell him. "I don't really get attached to people and I really shouldn't get attached to you for personal reasons of my own. I can't help but push people away for that reason. So just give me some space and let me get used to having people around."   
        Derek doesn't respond and gives me his usual blank expression.   
        "Actually do whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me." I tell him turning away from him and trying to ignore my relapse of insanity. Derek finally speaks up and luckily ignores my previous statement as well.   
       "Are you busy later?" he asks me.  
       "I just have lacrosse practice to attend to but after that I'm free... until tonight. I have the parent/teacher conferences."  
       "Ok, well make sure to swing by my house. We need to discuss something more privately." Derek says opening the door of my office.   
       "Discuss what exactly?" I shout out but a student walks in with a nosebleed and Derek was gone. I roll my eyes at his usual disappearing act and return to the boy holding on to his red nose. 


	11. The Falling of Miracles

       I enter the Hale house which seems oddly silent. I look around every room trying to find him when all of a sudden I sense him. Before I knew it I felt his attack towards me and I quickly grab him before he could even reach me. I flipped him onto his back and he landed on the floor with a thud.   
        "What the hell was that for?" I ask him. "Is that why you made me come here to discuss? So you can attack me?"   
        "No, I'm trying to prove a point." Derek states as he stands up. He winces at his shoulder before brushing it off. I roll my eyes at his answer.   
        "What did your epic failure prove?" I ask him.   
        "That you almost didn't notice my attack." he tells me. "And that I'm not strong enough to face an Alpha."   
        "So you're conclusion is...?" I ask him.   
        "That we're both too weak to face an Alpha that has a pack." Derek states. "I'm an Omega and you're a packless Alpha. Working together but separate isn't going to help us. You need a pack and I need an Alpha."   
        "You're not implying that we..." I draw out.   
        "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I know what you said earlier today but this arrangement would just last until we catch the Alpha. After that I'll leave and you won't have to worry about me anymore."  
        "But Derek..." I start off but he interrupts me.    
        "Having a pack will make us both stronger. You'll be more aware of your surroundings, more stronger, and much more faster. Together we can bring down the Alpha without no problems."   
        I sigh and look away. "I don't know Derek. There people out there that want me dead and if they find me before we find the Alpha, then you're dead too. I can't put you in that kind of danger."   
        "You're forgetting that the Argents are already here wanting our kind dead. If we become a pack then I'll make sure to protect you more than ever, like I've been doing. They won't find out about you. I can assure you that."  '  
        I hesitate and keep on thinking about how badly this could end for us.   
        "Diana, do you remember how our eyes glowed at the clinic? When I almost died and you were there ready to help me go through it?" Derek asks. I just nod not understanding what this had to do with anything. "Our eyes glowed because we were compatible. An Alpha is selective of it's pack, vice versa for a Beta looking for an Alpha, that day we realized we needed each other."   
        I let out a sigh as I realize that Derek wouldn't stop finding reasons for me to do this so I give in.  
        "Fine, I'll be your Alpha." I tell him. Derek just sighs in relief as I said this. "So what am I supposed to do? Sign some papers or give you a sticker for being Team Diana or what?"   
        Derek just rolls his eyes at me.   
        "Remember when I told Scott that killing was his Alpha's rite of passage to his pack?" Derek asks. I nod and he continues. "Well what's your rite of passage to your pack?"   
        I look at him confused.   
        "Are you serious?" I ask with a bit of laughter. "I get to chose your initiation to my pack."   
        "Don't make it hard." Derek growls out. I just shake my head and think of something simple.   
        "Ok...I don't know. Do 20 pullups and let's call it a day." I tell him. Derek just grins at my request and pulls off his shirt. "Wow, I didn't ask for a strip tease."   
        "I'm not going to ruin one of my good shirts." Derek states before reaching above him and doing them. I could see how his back muscles contracted and the triskele tattoo that moved with him. I had to hold the sigh of contempt from escaping my mouth and tried to compose myself. Before I knew it Derek then drops to the floor and starts to do push-ups. In a matter of minutes he starts doing one-handed push ups which made it harder for me to muster up some witty remark.   
       "I think you're good." I state as I clear my throat. "You've proved yourself worthy."   
        Derek stands up and looks at me causing our eyes to change. Blue submitting to Red. I could now feel more energy buzzing inside me and my inner wolf seem to purr in contempt. No one said anything as we stared at each other enjoying the new rush of power. But we both soon look away as we hear rustling footsteps directed to the door. Derek doesn't even offer me a second glance as he pushes me into the other room. I wanted to tell him to get out of here but he doesn't give me the chance.   
       "Stay here." he tells me before walking out. I wanted to argue to him about this but I knew it was useless. Derek was my Beta now and it was his job to protect me. I stayed hidden not ready to leave him alone in this. It wasn't long before I heard the hunters make their way in.  
       "No one's home." I hear one of them call out.  
       "Oh, he's here. He's just not feeling particularly hospitable." Kate calls out. I freeze as I hear her.  
       "Maybe he's out burying a bone in the backyard." One of them jokes.  
       "Really? A dog joke? We're going there, and that's the best you got? If you wanna provoke him, say something like,  _"Too bad your sister 'bit it' before she had her first litter._ " Kate Argent shouts out. I stood hidden in the back room feeling Derek's anger rise.  " _Too bad she howled like a bitch when we cut her in half!_ "    
       I hear his growl from upstairs and the crashing of furniture. I saw how he took out two of the hunters before he tried to attack Kate. Derek lunges for her but Kate uses a tasered baton to strike Derek down. I could feel how the electricity ran through him and I had to restrain myself from letting out a painful cry. My eyes flash red as I slowly slide down the floor.  
       "This one grew up in all the right places. I don't know whether to kill it or...lick it."  
       I knew I couldn't sit out and leave Derek with her but I couldn't let myself be known. If they find out what I am and what I turn into they would torture out an answer. Even then Derek would kill me himself if I came to his rescue. He told me he wouldn't let them find out about me. I had to trust that he would keep his word.   
        Kate continued to watch Derek struggle. I could see Derek crawl on the floor helplessly and felt as he got zapped again. I watched with pity and a sick feeling in my stomach.   
       "900,000 volts. You never were good with electricity, were you? Or fire. Which is why I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. And, well, maybe we can help each other out. Yes, your sister was severed into pieces and used as bait to try to catch you. Unpleasant and frankly, a little too Texas chainsaw massacre for my taste, but quite true. Now here's the part that might really kick you in your new balls . We didn't kill her. You think I'm lying?" Kate asks him.  
       "Wouldn't be the first time." Derek replies as he sits up. I close my eyes wishing I could get up and leave but I couldn't. I needed to be here for him even though I was hiding like a coward. This wouldn't be the first time I was doing this.  
       "Tsk, sweetie - Well - Why don't you just listen to my heart and tell me if I am. Okay? We . Didn't. Kill. Your. Sister. Do you hear that?There's no blips or upticks. Just the steady beat of the cold, hard truth. Found bite marks on your sister's body, Derek. What do you think did that? A mountain lion?" Kate jokes.  
       "Why aren't we helping each other out? You might as well admit what you've been guessing all along, which is - The Alpha killed your sister. And all you have to do is tell us who he is, and we'll take care of it for you. Problem solved, everybody goes home happy." Kate offers. There was a pause and I look over to find Derek avoiding her gaze.  "Unless... you don't know who he is either."  
       There was an unnerving silence as Kate laughs to herself.  
       "Wow. Guess who just became totally useless?"  
       I quickly get up as I realize her next move. The sounds of her gun go off as she tries hit Derek. I take the back exit as Derek goes out through the front. We both sprint through the woods and soon find each other. We make it pretty far before Derek starts to slow down. He faces the house and breathes heavily. I wasn't sure if it was the run or his upset state.   
       "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." I tell him. "I shouldn't have left you alone with her. I'm sorry."  
       Derek keeps on taking deep breaths.  
       "I'm really sorry, Derek. For everything. I'm a coward before and I'm a coward now..."  
       "Diana, stop." Derek states. "Just stop. If it weren't for you, I would be dead right now. You gave me strength. Just in time, you made me strong again."   
        I was speechless to his gratitude. I had never expected that from him.   
        "Thank you." he states. "Seriously thank you."   
        Derek then does something unexpected. He hugs me and I remain there frozen in his arms. After a few seconds I wrap my arms around him and steady my fast heartbeat. We both pull away and just stare at each other. I quickly pull away from him and look away.  
        "I have some conferences to go to." I tell him. "I should be back later tonight. You can stay at my house until it's safe for you to go back."  
        Derek just nods and takes my housekey from my hand. I turn aw   
        "Be careful." Derek states as he looks down at me in concern. I just nod and start to walk away, heading to my car. This day had certainly turned out the opposite than I had expected. 

*********        

       I quickly [shower and change ](http://www.polyvore.com/howls/set?id=173509313)in the girl's locker room before conferences had started. I would have done this at my house but Derek was there and I needed some distance after what we've both have been through today with Kate. I enter my office to find Sheriff Stilinski waiting for me. I give him a smile as he looks up at me.   
        "Good evening, Sheriff. If this is about Stiles, let me assure you I've told him to take his ADD pills with moderation. Whether he listens to me is another question." I tell him. The Sheriff just gives me a tight smile which I soon realize wasn't meant for Stiles' health status. This had to do with the Alpha's third attack.   
        "I'm here for a completely different reason." Sheriff states. "I'h hate to bother you, but, uh, I'm having a bitch of a time getting a consensus on what this is we're dealing with."  
        I look over at the hallway and close the door for privacy.   
        "I'm really flattered that you're coming to me for help but I'm not an expert." I repeat for him.   
        "But you were pretty certain the other day that the attacker could have been a mountain lion."   
        "I said it was the most reasonable possibility." I correct.   
        "Well I wanna show you something." Sheriff states as he places the folder in front of me. "We got a little lucky here. Uh, the video store didn't have any cameras, but a security camera from the parking lot across was able to grab a few frames. Take a look at our mountain lion."   
        I open the folder and look through the pictures. This was going to be hard to convince the Sheriff that the animal was a mountain lion. All of the pictures showed a big black wolf-like creature.  
        "This is interesting..." I whisper. The Sheriff just shakes his head at me and shows me the last picture.   
        "Actually, uh, this is the interesting one."   
        "I see what you mean." I state nervously. The last picture showed a human-like figure.   
        "I've never seen a mountain lion do that." the Sheriff states.   
        "Can't say I have either." I tell him. "You've got a problem here."   
        "My first instinct was it was a bear, but bears don't walk on two legs."  
        "No, they drop to all fours." I agree. "Look, like I said, I'm not an expert. I just got my degrees two years ago with no field practice. You shouldn't really trust my evaluation."    
        "Yeah, yeah, but... could this still be a mountain lion?" he asks me.  
        "I really don't know..." I state. "It's all I've got to give. I'm really not an expert and I wish I could help you more but..."   
        "You don't have any other ideas?" he asks me. My mind was blank from any other possible lies I could give to him.   
        "I'm sorry. Like I said I'm not that qualified and I'm not an expert and I should really go back to these conferences. These parents are waiting for me and I should really talk to them." I tell him motioning to a line outside my door.   
        "Yeah, yeah... thanks for humoring me again." Sheriff states giving me a smile before stepping out of my office. Somebody's parents walks in and I start talking about epipens and allergies.   
       After having that conversation a couple of times I walk down the hallway to waste some time.  as I see parents waiting to talk to their children's teacher. Some of the students were shamelessly there. I knew the feeling as I passed by them. Certain conversations that were happening caught my attention.  
       _"Jackson's a highly motivated student. In fact, I'd describe him as unusually driven."_  
       _"Lydia's one of the finest students I've ever had. Her A.P. classes push her GPA above a 5.0. I'd actually like to have her I.Q. tested. And socially, she displays outstanding leadership qualities. I mean, she's a real leader."_ Another teacher remarks.  
        _"Stiles. Great kid. Zero ability to focus. Super smart. Never takes advantage of his talents."_  I hear Coach Finstock say.  
        _"Lately Scott's mind has been somewhere else, as has his body. Personally, I think it may have something to do with his home situation."_  
       I stop as I hear this.  
      _"Oh, well, personally, I'm not sure what you mean by "home situation."_  I hear what I assume is Scott's mom reply.  
       _"Uh, specifically the lack of an authority figure."_ Mr. Harries clarifies.  
       _"Yeah, I'm the authority figure, so..."_  
        _"Sorry. Allow me to clarify. I mean the lack of a male authority figure."_  
        _"Oh. Well, trust me, we're much better off without him in the picture."_  
       I frown as I hear this. I didn't know much about Scott and his house situation but hearing this made me realize that Scott had more problems than I thought he did. He had human problems.  
       _"He's going through some difficult changes. He just needs a - little extra attention, a guiding hand through this crucial stage of his development."_  
       I walk away from that room not wanting to hear more. I make my way back to my office and ignore the rising feeling of guilt. It made me upset that Scott was dragged into this while he had his life to worry about. I kept on thinking about this as I heard a light tap on my door. The door opens and a familiar face walks in.  
       "Isaac, is everything ok?" I ask him noticing his out of breath state.  
        "My father's here and he's going to want to talk to you." he tells me. "He's going to try to scare you. That's what he did with our last nurse."   
        I look at him in surprise since this was the first time he talked to me ever since I started helping him. What surprised me even more was that he was concerned for me.  
        "I can take care of myself, Isaac." I tell him firmly. "Thanks for coming to tell me."   
        Isaac seemed to want to say more but a man walks in. I turn to Isaac who tries to hide his fear as his father joins us in the room.  
       "You must be Mr. Lahey. Isaac was just telling me about you." I say taking out my hand for him to shake. "I'm Diana Ross. The school's nurse."  
       The man looks over at me and grins. He shakes my hand and cockily states the obvious.   
       "You look too young to be a nurse."  
       "Not the first time I've heard that today. Certainly won't be the last." I say as my smile concaves itself. "I have my diplomas on stand by if you'll like proof of my capacity."  
        Mr. Lahey just shakes his head at me and looks around the room.   
        "No, that'll be fine." he states. Isaac turns to his father. I look in between them in fear of what might happen next. I knew about their house situation and he knows that I know about it too. He forces a cold smile on his face as he raises his arm. Isaac tries to hold back the flinch but I notice it. Mr. Lahey just pats Isaac's shoulder as he faces me.  
       "You see... I was here so I could explain to you about my stupid son and his constant injuries." He begins to say. "Isaac, tends to be very clumsy. He trips on our stairs a lot and he also plays lacrosse so he get's injured a lot."  
       I force a smile on my face as he said this.  
       "That's understandable."  
       Mr. Lahey drops the smile on his face.  
       "Good. I just wanted to clear the air about that."  
       "Of course. It's not like I had any suspicions at all." I reply. His cold stare returns to me.  
       "What is that supposed to mean?"  
       "I'm not stupid, Mr. Lahey. It's insulting that you might think I am. Young nurse, very obedient, easy to scare...that's not who I am. So if you want to sweep dust under the rug, go ahead. Don't expect me to help you hold the broom while you're doing it."  
       "Are you trying to blackmail me?!"  
       "No, of course not." I answer. "Blackmailing means I get something out of the deal which I'm not. This is a threat."  
       Mr. Lahey seems even more shocked as I say this.   
        "Whatever the reason is for your abuse, whether because you're drunk when you do it or your just angry at the world, some even say that abusers have a small..." I say with a taunting grin but Mr. Lahey quickly comes at me and I'm fast enough to grab his arm and slam him on the closed door. "That's what I thought. You come at me again, I'll make sure to break your arm. You come at Isaac again, I'll make sure to break your face. You got me?"   
        Mr. Lahey doesn't say anything and I let him go.   
       "It was nice speaking to you, Mr. Lahey." I state looking at a nearby file. "I hope we can do that again sometime."   
        Without a response he leaves the room. Isaac tries to hide his grin but couldn't help himself.   
        "Thank you." he states before leaving the room. I couldn't help but smile at that. I checked the clock and realize that the conferences were over. I picked up my things and locked my office. I walk out of the school just to find the crowd of parents leaving as well. I ignore the Argents as I walk past them. I head towards my car but a cry comes from the parking lot. People start running to their cars and others are already getting into them. That Alpha is here. He's got to be.  
       I run around the parking lot in hopes of finding it. I start to take off my coat and slip off my shoes as I prepare myself to shift. I find Scott looking for him too. The parking lot becomes chaotic as I make my way around it. People are screaming, running, and driving crazily. I try to use my wolf senses into finding it as a growl pierces through the air.  
       I see a figure run across from me to fast for me to notice. I quickly grab the gun out of my purse and hold it tightly as I pass parked cars.  
       "Move! Move!" the Sheriff shouts out as he searches for the creature. He turns to me and see's the gun I was holding. Luckily he doesn't question it as another growl catches our attention. Sheriff Stilinski starts to move again and before I could warn him a car backs into him.  
       "Sheriff!" I call out as I run to his laid state on the ground. "You're hurt."  
       "I'm ok." He says as he looks up at me. Another growl is heard and Sheriff Stilinski immediately pulls out a gun from his ankle. Before he could even stand up two shots our heard. He looks up at me but see's my gun on the ground. We both look up to search for the source just to find Chris Argent holding a pistol in the air.  
       I help the Sheriff up and we head towards the animal that was shot. Laying on the parking lot floor was a mountain lion. I turn to Argent who's just staring at the dead animal on the ground. I look down at it and could only think of one thing.  _I guess miracles do happen._


	12. An Unexpected Date

        Derek had stayed a few nights at my house ever since Kate attacked him in his. I didn't argue since I did offer him he could stay over if he needed to. I just never expected him to accept my offer but here he was. Luckily we avoided each other as much as we could. Derek would leave at random times in the day and then I had my job and other activities to tend to. Except tonight we were both at the house.   
        I grabbed my keys and [was ready to leave](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=177734822) the door when Derek speaks up from his bed on the couch.   
        "Where are you going?" he asks.   
        "I need to buy some groceries." I tell him.   
        "Good, I'll come with you." Derek replies as he stands up.   
        "You don't have to..." I say but he interrupts me.   
        "I've eaten your food the least I can do is pay for some more."   
        I look at the door and then back at him hesitantly.   
        "Fine, but I'll pay for what's mine and you can pay whatever you want. Deal?"   
        "Sure, whatever." Derek states as he grabs his jacket and heads out. I sigh as I walk through and lock the house behind me.   
        We arrived at Wal-Mart pretty quickly and I grab a cart. I slowly start to go aisle through aisle grabbing the food we need.  A loaf of bread, eggs, tortillas, milk... the list went on and on. Activities like these almost made me feel normal, human, but Derek following me everywhere killed that illusion. At some point Derek disappears and I didn't question it. That is until I almost drop the frozen bag of chicken fajitas when he popped out of nowhere.   
       "Jesus, Derek. You almost gave me a heartattack!" I exclaim as I place the bag in the cart and start to stroll away from him.  
        "If you were always on your toes I wouldn't have been able to sneak up to you."   
        I let out a sigh as I grab protein bars from the shelf and throw them in.   
        "I don't think I need to be ready for an attack in Wal-Mart." I state as I walk through the next aisle. I turn to him curiously. "Is there a reason why you're following me around tonight?"   
        Derek gives me a small smile before answering.   
       "Your my Alpha. I felt a need to protect you." Derek replies. He grabs a t-bone steak from the fridge and places it on the cart. I laugh at his response and move away from that section.  
       "Oh really?" I ask. "Well Derek I can protect myself. I don't need you to be my bodyguard."  
       Derek just rolls his eyes as I finish grabbing a few spices and seasoning before checking out. After paying for everything I make my way to parking lot were Derek decides to take the lead on this and pushes the button of the elevator. Once the doors open Derek quickly puts away my groceries and turns to me.  
        "I need your help with something." he states.   
        "With what?" I ask a bit unsure with his last minute request.  
        "I need you to growl and then I'll do the rest." Derek states as he closes my trunk.   
        "The rest of what?" I ask but Derek was gone and that was when I notice the second beta's presence. Scott was here and this must have been Derek's impromptu plan to train Scott. I roll my eyes at and let myself slightly turn. My eyes turned red, claws extracting slightly, and my canines growing through. I let out a loud growl that vibrated through the small parking lot. I can feel Scott's fear and all of a sudden I see Scott run past me setting car alarms on his way. A few seconds later Derek starts chasing him down. Derek seemed lost with all of the car alarms going off. I couldn't even locate him through all the noise.   
       I laid back on my car giving up until I hear Scott's phone ring. Derek and I look at each other and quickly corner Scott. Before I could stop him, Derek grabs Scott and slams him on the hood of someone's car.   
       "You're dead." Derek states before letting him go. Derek then starts to walk away while Scott tries to gain back his breath. Scott then follows after us and he looked pissed.   
       "What...what the hell was that?" Scott exclaims.  
       "Said I was gonna teach you. I didn't say when." Derek answers before turning away. Scott looks at me questioning. I just shrug my shoulders as we both follow the werewolf.  
       "I honestly didn't know that he planned this." I state. "He just told me to growl and then I saw you running away."   
       "Well, he scared the crap out of me." Scott replies.    
       "Not yet." Derek replies looking back at us.  
       "Okay, but I was fast, right?" Scott asks us both.  
       "Not fast enough." I answer. "Derek was at your heels and you didn't even know about it."  
       "But...but the car alarm thing, that was smart, right?" Scott asks.  
       "Till your phone rang." Derek responds.  
       "Yeah, but that was... I mean... would you just stop? Please?" Scott shouts out at him. Derek stops walking and turns back to him. "What happened the other night, Stiles' dad getting hurt, that was my fault. I should have been there to do something. I need you to teach me how to control this."  
       "Look, I am what I am because of birth. You were bitten." Derek answers. "Teaching someone who was bitten takes time. I don't even know if I can teach you."  
       "But Diana, she was bit and she learned control." Scott remarks as he motions at me.  
       "It took me three years to learn control and I was an Alpha as I did this. Our situations are completely different."  
       Scott seems to lose all hope as I said this. With low shoulders he looks at Derek.  
       "What do I have to do?"  
       "You have to get rid of distractions. You see this?" Derek asks taking up Scott's phone that marked Alison's missed call. "This is why I caught you. You want me to teach you? Get rid of her."  
       "What just because of her family?" Scott asks. Derek then raises his arm and throws the phone to the wall. The phone cracking in two. "Wait...wait...whoa...whoa!"  
       "You getting angry?" Derek asks. "That's your first lesson. You want to learn how to control this, how to shift, you do it through anger. By tapping into a primal animal rage and you can't do that with her around."    
       "He has a point. Anger is key into controlling the shift. So Scott, can you get angry?"  
       "I can get angry." Scott answers.  
       "Not angry enough." Derek states. "This is the only way that I can teach you. Now, can you stay away from her? At least until after the full moon?"  
       "If that's what it takes." Scott answers. I roll my eyes at his hesitation.  
       "Do you want to live?" I ask him. "Do you want to protect your friends?"  
       "Yes. If you can both teach me, I can stay away from her."  
       I turn to Derek who seems convinced with his answer.  
       "Then we're done here. Go back to whatever you were doing and we'll start your training tomorrow."  
       "I have lacrosse practice and then a job to get to. Can we do it after that?" Scott asks.  
       Derek sighs before offering him a response.  
       "Fine but don't be late." Derek states before heading to my car. Scott looks at me confused as Derek gets inside my car.   
        "Don't ask." I answer. Scott looks even more confused as I said this. "It's not what you're thinking. We just... you know what I don't have to explain myself to you."   
        Scott wasn't convinced with my answer.   
        "Just be careful, ok?" he asks.   
        "I always am." I answer. "I'll see you tomorrow, Scotty." I give him a wave before entering my car and starting it up. I look at Derek before even moving my car.  
       "Seriously? You had to attack him at a grocery store parking lot?" I ask him.  
       "He wouldn't expect it." Derek states.   
         I just shake my head as I put my car on reverse and drive out of the lot.  
       "You're a dick, did you know that?" I respond. Derek just grunts as an answer and I could only roll my eyes.   
       The drive didn't take long and I quickly take the turn to my house. I parked my car and without asking him Derek grabbed all of the grocery bags and brought them in. I started to look through them and pack the things away only leaving the ingredients I needed on the table behind. Derek looks around my house while I did this but his untrusting state was nowhere to be seen.  
       "So I'm making fajitas." I say as I turn on the stove. "A recipe my mother taught me. I'm assuming you'll like some."  
       I trail off as I thought back on her. I shake that thought away as I start to cut the vegetables and place them on the pan. I motion for Derek to sit down at the table while I cooked. I grabbed the bags of semi-frozen chicken fajitas into the pan and it begins to fry. I add spice and seasoning and leave it to cook. I finally turn to him.  
       "Do you want something to drink?" I ask him. "Beer, water, coffee?"  
       "Water's fine."  
       I just nod as I walk to the fridge and grab a bottle. I hand it to him and we return to complete silence.  
       I wasn't sure what this first dinner alone meant. The only reason I could think of him doing this would be because he felt lonely and found company to the only person that was near his age, me.  
       I watched him look through my mail trying to find out the answer to my question. Derek seems to notice and looks up at me. His eyes as usual are unreadable. I turn away as the fajita pan crackles less. I lessen the heat of the stove and place tortillas to heat up. I turn to watch Derek again and he seemed to already be watching me.  
       "What are you looking at?" I ask him. Derek raises his eyebrows at me and turns to the pan behind me. I look back and move the fajitas around. I turn back to him and motion him to come over to me. Derek surprisingly gets up from his seat and makes his way into the kitchen. I grab a piece of chicken fajita and taste it. The flavor of Mexican cuisine exploding in my mouth. I close my eyes slightly remembering the warmth of my mother's kitchen. The memories quickly fade away as I felt Derek's finger brush my lips. I open my eyes to find him cleaning off some left over food of my face. I blush at the action and turn away.  
       "Why don't you try it?" I ask. I grab a piece and motion him to take it. Instead of grabbing the chicken with his own hand he takes my wrist and leads it to his mouth. He then takes the chicken off my fingers with his soft lips. Derek seems to enjoy the taste as a slight moan escapes his mouth. I was ready to pull my hand away but Derek holds me still and licks the remaining seasoning off my fingers before finally letting go.   
       I hadn't realized the moment my breath hitched or when my heart began to accelerate. It wasn't until I had to regain my breathing that I noticed the reaction that Derek brought out on me. Derek smiles at me before going back to his seat. I turn off the stove and bring the warm food onto the table. I set the plates and silverware in front of us and then motion him to dig in.  
        "This is really good." Derek states.   
        "The fajitas are a family recipe. My mother taught me how to make it before she passed away. I only cook it when I'm feeling sentimental which oddly enough is rare."  
       "And why do you feel sentimental today?" Derek asks.  
       "I don't know. It could be because of this whole situation we're in. Or maybe because my mother's birthday is coming up and I felt like I owed this to her."  
       "Was it just your mom and you or...?"  
       "I have a brother and my father..." I answer but I decided to keep the details to a minimum. "We were all very close but then my mother passed away and we all kind of drifted. Time went by and I got bit, killed an Alpha, ran away, and now here I am. "  
       Derek just nods understandingly.          
        "How about you?" I ask him. "What happened to you after the uh...after the fire?"   
        Derek seems to freeze at this topic and I quickly try to change it.   
        "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have asked that." I state nervously picking at my plate. Derek just clears his throat.   
        "It's ok," he states. "It's just that it's still hard for me to think back to that day."   
        I nod understanding what he meant.   
        "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."   
        "No, I want to talk about it." Derek states confidently but just looking at him I knew he was hesitant about it. "Laura and I were still at school when it happened. My mom, my dad, uncle Peter, and Cora were in the house when it happened. There was also my dad's cousins that came to visit, entirely human, and they didn't know about our werewolf gene. They were supposed to leave the day after but the fire happened. No one survived except for Peter and you know how he ended up."   
        "What did you do afterwards?" I ask him.   
        "Laura and I, with the insurance money we got, packed up and left. We've lived in New York for the past 6 years until Laura came back. After I didn't hear from her for a few weeks I came here myself just to find her dead and an Alpha running around."   
        "Then you met me and Scott and your world turned upside down." I state.   
        "Tilted. Not upside down. My world is slightly tilted." Derek states with a smile. I had to laugh at that and nod.   
        "I can agree with that." I say as I take a sip of water. I place my glass back on the table and sadly look up at him. "So Cora, she's really gone, isn't she?"   
        Derek just nods.   
        "There's no possible way she could have gotten out of there alive."   
        I sadly nod. "I didn't know why I thought there was still a chance for her to be...I don't know what I was thinking."   
        "How did you know Cora?" he asks me.   
        "We were friends in High School." I state as my eyes watered. "We were best friends, actually."  
        Derek just gives me a sad smile as he hears that.   
        "I can't remember you." Derek states. "Cora didn't have a lot of friends so I should be able to remember you, but I can't."   
        "I was only here for a year." I tell him. "And it was a hell of a year."   
        "Were you the friend that she got caught drinking in the school parking lot with?" he asks me.   
        "Cora did what?!" I ask him.   
        "I guess that answers my question." Derek states.   
        I laugh but couldn't help try to out do his Cora's story.   
        "I am the friend who punched a guy on the face when he intentionally spilled his drink on Cora's shirt."   
        Derek laughed at that and nods.   
        "I remember that but I'm pretty sure it wasn't you."   
        "Oh it definitely was me." I tell him. "He was as I remember one of your basketball jock friends that wanted to mess with her because she was a Hale and a freshman. Man, I hated those seniors. So I got up to his face and I punched him in the nose. Broke it from what I heard. Guys got to scared to get near me which was something my..."   
        Derek looks at me waiting for me to continue.   
        "Well it didn't give me a date for homecoming that was for sure but it wasn't like I wanted to go anyways."   
        "If I had known you back then I would have asked you." Derek states. "Just for doing that."   
        I laugh and shake my head.   
        "I would have said no." I tell him. "First, because Cora forbade me to do so. Second, because you were friends with that basketball jock and I don't tolerate those. Third, I wasn't a Derek fangirl so we wouldn't have gotten along."   
        "I doubt that the last reason was true."   
        "Oh it was," I tell him. "I wasn't going to be one of the many girls you had charmed into. I was too smart for that."   
        Derek smirks at that.   
        "Well, dinner was fun." I said as I picked up the empty plates in front of us. " _Buen Provecho,_ like my mother used to say after every meal."  
        I make my way to the sink and turn on the water. I begin to rinse the plates. I was too distracted with thoughts of my mother and Cora that I didn't hear Derek sneak up on me. I turn around just in time to find him cornering me between himself and the sink.   
        "What are you doing?" I ask him surprised.   
        "You're smart enough to know." Derek replies. "I'm giving you the space you need."  
        I searched his eyes for a clue but I found them unreadable.   
        "What do you mean?"   
        "Diana, you've been alone this whole time. We both have been alone and I know we both have wanted company even though we deny it. So here I am giving you the space to make the next move. You can either take a step closer and kiss me like in the Clinic or you can step back and I'll take your hint."  
        "Derek..." I whisper as he gives me these two options.   
        "I'm giving you the space, now decide what you want to do with it."   
        "You're not giving me the time." I reply as I look up at him.   
        "You have all the time of the world."  
        I could feel his hot breath on my face and I so wanted to repeat the kiss from the clinic but it was all wrong. This was wrong. He shouldn't be looking at me like this. He shouldn't want my company.   
        "You don't want me, Derek." I tell him. "You don't want what I bring into people's life."   
        "And what is that?" Derek asks.   
        "Death." I tell him. "I bring death. I have hunters out to kill me and anyone who even glances my way."   
        "I have those too." he answers.   
        "Derek please, don't..."   
        "Make your choice." Derek repeats.   
        I sigh as I look up at him, his green eyes enchanting me like the first time I saw them. I take a deep breath and take a step closer to him. Then I slip through his arms and make my way down the hallway.   
        "The guest bedroom across the hall is up for grabs. I would suggest just moving into it then staying on the couch."   
        I forced myself not to look back as I heard the front door slam closed. I made my way to my room not chasing after him. From there on, I closed the door and locked it taking a deep breath as I tried to calm the storm of emotions inside me. I lay down on my bed and try to think past this but all my mind could revolve around was Derek and our so close kiss. I twisted and turned in my bed regretting my decision but I had to do it. I was too smart to fall for Derek Hale. 


	13. Gains and Losses

        I enter the school the next morning and I'm quickly cornered by Scott. He leads me to my office and locks the door. I look at him confused as Scott quickly begins to talk.   
        "Ok, so I know you and Derek are hanging out, which I don't agree with but he snuck into my room, AGAIN, and was all mean, which is normal for him but he was with you so I got worried and I need you to tell me what happened."   
        "Scott, I'm fine." I tell him. "Derek and I, we just had a disagreement."   
        Scott didn't look convinced by this but I shrugged it off.   
        "You two aren't like...you know..." Scott trails off. I look at him more closely which made him more nervous.   
        "You mean having sex? No, why would you even ask that?"   
        "Well you two did go home together and I don't know. Stiles told me you two had a pretty intense kiss in the Clinic so I just assumed..."   
        I just shake my head at him.   
        "Scott, don't ever ask me about my personal life ever again." I state as I try to forget last night's scene. "So moving on from that, what did Derek come talk to you about last night?" I ask him. Scott looks at me nervously. "Scott?"    
        "I was with Allison last night. You know to explain why I couldn't talk to her anymore because Derek broke my phone and the Alpha came up to me. I told him about how I felt the Alpha being so angry but not to me. He drew a spiral on my window and when I asked Derek about what it meant he just blew me off."   
        I just sigh as I hear this and run my hand through my hair.   
        "Are you sure everything is ok between you two?" he asks me. I turn back to him and hesitantly respond.   
        "Yeah, I'm sure Derek is over it by now." I tell him. Scott looked at me unsure but I give him a small smile. "Really Scott, I'm fine and Derek is fine. We just got into an argument. We'll be over it by lunch. Now go to class. You don't want to be late."   
        Scott still gives me a concerned stare but does what he's told.   
        "Fine but you would tell me if something was severely wrong right?" he asks.   
        "Of course, you'll be the first to know." I tell him. "Now get going kid."   
        Scott just smiles at me and reluctantly leaves my office. I sit down worried to what Scott had told me. I was debating whether to call Derek up but I'm pretty sure he didn't come home last night for a reason. I put my phone away and focused on the paperwork I had to do. 

***********

        It wasn't until after second period that Stiles comes running into my office. I look at his wild state and knew that something was up. Stiles didn't really try to hide his intention when he spoke up.   
        "So I need a heart monitor." Stiles states.   
        "For what?" I ask him.   
        "Oh well I have this irregular heartbeat...you know for what! For Scott!" Stiles sarcastically replies.   
        "Hey! Don't you take that tone with me. I can rip your head off with my teeth." I tell him. Stiles just rolls his eyes at me.   
        "Do you know that you and Derek share the same threats?" Stiles asks. "It's kind of cute."   
        I grab the heart monitor and throw it at him ready to change the subject.   
        "Here's your stupid heart monitor." I tell him. "Thing is, these things are connected to Coach's phone since they use these for track and he's the coach so you'll have to ask him for that."   
        Stiles just shakes his head.   
        "Yeah he won't give that to me." Stiles states. I roll my eyes at him.   
        "I'm not condoning this but if he won't give it to you, then just take it." I tell him. I check the time on my phone and look up at him. "Coach by this time is most likely eating donuts from the teacher's lounge. His office should be unlocked and his phone on his desk easy for one to take."   
        Stile just nods and gives me a goofy grin.   
        "What are you waiting for?" I ask him. "Go get it!"   
        Stiles smiles drops and he quickly runs out of my room to take Coach's phone. I walk out onto the hallway and make my way to the teacher's lounge. As I expected Coach Finstock was enjoying the donuts on the coffee table and his phone was nowhere to be seen. I grab a fresh cup of coffee and walk out headed this time outside the boy's locker room. I got there right as Stiles got out. He then starts to walk out to the field outside. Scott was waiting for him out there. I stop in my tracks and decide to watch from afar.   
        "Okay. Now, put this on." Stiles tell him as he hands him the heart monitor.   
        "Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?" Scott asks us.   
        "Yeah, I borrowed it. Coach uses it to monitor the heart rate with his phone while they jog and you're gonna wear it for the rest of the day." Stiles responds as he takes out Coach's phone.   
        "Isn't that coach's phone?" Scott asks him.   
        "Yeah, I stole it." Stiles answers with agrin.   
        "Why?" Scott asks.   
        "Well, your heart rate goes up when you turn, right? When you're playing lacrosse, when you're with Allison, whenever you get angry. Maybe learning to control it is tied to learning to control your heart rate." Stiles theorizes.   
        "Like the Incredible Hulk." Scott states with a goofy smile.   
        "Kind of like the Incredible Hulk." Stiles corrects.   
        "No, I'm like the Incredible Hulk." Scott repeats.   
        I just roll my eyes and Stiles becomes annoyed.   
        "Would you shut up and put the strap on?" he asks him.  
        "This is exactly how I wanted to spend my free period." Scott replies as he puts the heart monitor on.   
        "And I have work to do but here I am making sure neither of you get killed on my watch." I mumble from my hidden spot near the stands.   
        "You ready?" Stiles asks.   
        "No." Scott answers.   
        "Remember don't get angry." Stiles tells him.   
        "I'm starting to think this was a really bad idea..." Scott states as Stiles picks up a ball. He then throws it at Scott and hits him in the chest. "Oh, man. Okay, that one... kind of hurt."  
        "Quiet. Remember, you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate, all right? About staying calm."   
        "Stay calm. Staying calm. Staying totally calm." Scott mumbles. "There's no balls flying at my face... Aah! Son of a bitch!"   
        I couldn't help but laugh as Scott kept on getting hit by balls. I knew it was bad for me to that but I couldn't help myself. This whole situation was pretty comedic.   
        "You know what? I think my aim is actually improving." Stiles remarks.  
        "Aah! Son of a bitch!" Scott shouts out as more balls come to him.   
        "Don't get angry!" Stiles yells at him.    
        "I'm not getting angry." Scott replies. Stiles continues to throw balls on his face and chest that causes Scott to fall on his knees. I look down at him worriedly. "Stop. Just... can we just hold..."   
        Scott then rips through the binding of the tape and starts to breathe heavily.   
        "Scott?" Stiles ask. "Scott, you started to change."   
        "From anger." Scott answers. "But it was more than that. It was like, the angrier I got, the stronger I felt."   
        "So it is anger then, Derek and Diana are right."   
        "I can't be around Allison." Scott states.   
        "Just because she makes you happy?" Stiles asks.   
        "No, because she makes me weak." Scott answers.  
        "Alright you stay away from her for a few days, you can do that." Stiles tells him.   
        "But is it a few days, or is it forever?" Scott asks.   
        "You know, this whole "woman make you weak," thing is a little too spartan warrior for me. It's probably just part of the learning process." Stiles states trying to comfort him.   
        "Yeah, but you've seen Derek and Diana. They're both totally alone." Scott states. I look away knowing it was true. "What if I can, like, never be around her again?"   
        "Well, if you're not dead, that could be a good thing." Stiles tells him.  
        "I'll rather be dead." Scott states.   
        "All right, you're not gonna end up like Derek or Diana, alright? We'll figure it out." Stiles tells him.  
        "If you're going to be talking behind my back I suggest you do a better job at it." I tell them. "Besides my solitude wasn't my choice. Things drew me to it."   
        "I didn't mean to insult you." Scott apologizes.  
        "I know you didn't but it's better for me to be alone. You won't understand why, but it's for the best. Just know that you won't end up like me if you learn control."    
        "Okay," Scott says nervously.    
        "Now get to class, both of you." I tell them. "You don't want to be late."   
        Stiles and Scott nod and head out. I look at the field that seemed to swallow me whole. I was alone and it was for good reason. I was starting to rethink this whole situation. Maybe being alone wasn't the best choice I've made but what else could I do. 

*********

        Scott comes walking into my office with a bleeding nose. I look up at him and just shake my head. This must of been a continuation of Stiles' plan for all I know.   
        "So what did he make you do now?" I ask him as he pinches the bridge of his nose.   
        "I got beat up as an experiment to see if Allison gave me control." Scott states as he sits down.   
        "And how did that go?" I ask him as I grab some tissues and give it to him. He quickly puts them on his nose.   
        "It worked. Just the thought of her gives me control." Scott answers. "I'm in love with her. I'm really in love with her."   
        I smile at his goofy grin.   
        "I'm glad for you Scotty. Not so happy about her being an Argent but who am I to judge?" I say. "I've done worser things..."   
        "So what does that mean?" Scott asks. "Allison giving me control?"   
        "It means you've found your anchor." I tell him. "Something that keeps you bound to your human side. You found yours."   
        Scott smiles at that.   
        "So who's your anchor?" he asks me. "What keeps you human?"   
        "It's not a who, it's a what." I answer.   
        "And what is that what?"   
        "Fear." I tell him. "My fear keeps me bound to my human side."   
        "But being afraid isn't good." Scott states.   
        "We can't all have the star-crossed kind of love. We can't have that kind of luxury. So we use what we have and move along."   
        "And that's all you have?" he asks.   
        "That's all I've ever needed." I answer. "I would tell you more but I don't like going into my personal life."   
        "You really should talk to Deaton then. He knows you and I know you've been avoiding him but he's all you have besides Derek, which is also someone you're avoiding too. Why do you want to be alone, Diana? Why?"   
        "Scott." I state getting tired of the topic. "I'm fine so please just..."   
        "You howled at the moon for God sake!" he shouts at me. "You howled at the moon because you felt lonely!"  
        "SCOTT!" I growl out. "Stop it, ok? Just stop it!"   
        Scott seems afraid of me and I soon regret yelling at him.   
        "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just..." I trail off. "It's just I'm fine where I'm at. No one too close to me. No one to get hurt for my mistakes. Just no one."   
        Scott was about to say something but Mr. Harris comes to my office.   
        "I'm sorry to interrupt but I need Mr.McCall for detention and he's already late."   
        "Take him away, then." I say. "He's all cured up."   
        Mr. Harris then takes Scott out of there but he looks back at me sadly. I knew he was right. That there were people out there that could help me with this. That I wasn't alone as I thought but I couldn't let people care about me. Not when they could die because of me but I couldn't keep going like this. I needed to talk to someone besides teenagers and I could only think of one person. Scott was right. I should just forgive Deaton and end this life of solitude but maybe this would bring me more trouble. There was no harm in trying. 

*********

        I make my way to Deaton's clinic and practically spent 10 minutes in my car debating whether to go in or not. I finally make up my mind and get out of my car. I enter the office using the spare key and find Deaton cleaning up.   
        "Scott, is that you?" he calls out.   
        "Sorry to disappoint. It's just me." I answer. Deaton turns to look at me in surprise.   
        "Diana, I didn't expect...I didn't expect you to come around." Deaton states.   
        "Scott managed to convince me to visit you. I've been alone for a while now and people keep on getting close to me. Just the other night, Derek and I...we almost kissed and that would have been bad. Now he won't talk to me and even though I'm supposed to not let him close to me, I still want him to be. He's the only friend I have here. I don't know when that happened but it did. And I'm just ranting to you about every crazy thing in my life. I'm so sorry..."   
        Deaton just smiles but nods.   
        "That's what I'm here for. I'm here to listen."   
        "What am I supposed to do?" I ask him.   
        Deaton was about to give me an answer but we hear the door jingle.   
        "Scott," Deaton calls out. "You're late again! I hope this isn't getting to be a habit."   
        We both turn to what we thought was Scott but instead we find Derek.   
        "Can I help you?" Deaton asks.   
        "Derek, what are you doing here?" I ask him. Derek just ignores me and faces Deaton.  
        "I want to know about the animal you found with the spiral on its side?"   
        "Excuse me?" Deaton asks feigning cluelessness. "What animal?"  
        "Three months ago. The deer. You remember this?" Derek asks pulling up a picture. I find a dead deer with a spiral drawn on its side. I turn back to Deaton with the same curious look.   
        "Deaton, what do you know about the deer?" I ask him.   
        "It's just a deer. And I didn't find it. They called me because they wanted to know if I'd ever seen anything like it."   
        "What'd you tell 'em?" Derek asks.   
        "I told them no." he answers. I sigh as his heartbeat rises it's pace.   
        "Did you hear that?" Derek asks me. I nod but Deaton was left there confused.   
        "Hear what?"   
        "The sound of your heartbeat rising." I answer.   
        "Excuse me?" Deaton asks.   
        "It's the sound of lying." I explain. Derek without hesitation grabs Deaton by his coat.   
        "Oh God." he cries out.   
        "Are you protecting someone?" he asks. Deaton looks at me scared but I remain silent. Derek, not receiving his answer, knocks him out with one punch. I cry out as Deaton's body falls to the ground.   
        "What the hell are you doing, Derek?" I ask him.   
        "He knows something." Derek replies. He grabs some duck tape and tapes Deaton to his chair. "I'm going to find out what he's hiding whatever the cost."   
        "All right. The key to the drug locker is in my pocket." Deaton groggily says.   
        "I don't want drugs." Derek states. "I want to know why you're lying."   
        "I don't know what you're talking about. What are you doing to me? What do you want?" Deaton asks.   
        "I want to know who you are or who you're protecting." Derek raises his fist but I quickly grab it.   
        "Please don't do this." I tell him. "He's innocent."   
        "How would you know?" Derek asks.   
        "Just trust me ok?" I ask. "Just this once."   
        Derek looks between me and Deaton. He seems to contemplate whether to listen to me or not. Derek unfists his hand and I let him go. Before I could even blink, Derek had punched Deaton unconscious again.   
        "What are you doing?!" Scott asks as he runs in.   
        "Derek, what the hell!" I yell at him.   
        "Both of you, just get out of here!" Derek shouts at us  
        "Stop! Stop!" Scott exclaims.   
        "Look, when he's conscious, he can keep himself from healing, but unconscious, he can't." Derek explains.   
        "Are you serious?" I ask him. "You can't be that stupid!"   
        "Can someone please explain to me what she's talking about?" Scott asks.   
        "You want to know what the spiral means? It's our sign for a vendetta, for revenge. It means he won't stop killing until he's satisfied." Derek answers.   
        "You think he's the Alpha?" Scott asks us. "But Diana, you said..."  
        "I know what I said and I can assure you Derek is wrong."   
        "Well we're about to find out." Derek states as he raises his fist. I was going to stop him but Scott did it before I could.   
        "Hit him again, and then you'll see me get angry." Scott growls out as he shifts into his werewolf state. I could only give a small smile as he shifts back to normal. Derek seems surprised that Scott had managed to learn control so fast.   
        "Do you have a plan?" he asks him.   
        "Just give me an hour." Scott states.   
        "Then what?"   
        "Meet me at the school. In the parking lot." Scott answers. He then turns to me. "Can you please make sure he doesn't kill him?"  
        "Scott, I can't..." I start to say but Scott was out of there. I turn to Derek who looks down at Deaton.   
        "Let's get him out of here." Derek just states. He doesn't even look at me as he grabs Deaton and starts to carry him out. I turn off the lights and lock up the Clinic. I follow after him just to find him putting Deaton in the backseat.   
        "What are you doing?" I ask him.   
        "Would you rather sit back there with him or in the front seat?" he asks. I roll my eyes and get into his camaro.  
        "He's not who you think he is." I tell him.   
        "Then who is he?" Derek asks staring at the road.   
        "He's a liar." I state. "But he's doing what he thinks he's right."   
        "And how do you know this?" Derek asks.   
        "Because I do." I tell him. "For this one time in your life you need to trust me on this. Deaton is not the Alpha."   
        Derek takes his eyes off the road and turns to me.   
        "I wish I could but I can't." Derek states. He then looks back on the road. I sigh and shake my head.   
        "Are you serious?" I ask. "Are you that upset at me that you ignore everything I say to you? You said you would be fine if I decided to push you away. You said that it was my decision. You said..."   
        "I know what I said!" Derek exclaims. "I know what I said..."   
        "Then why are you acting like this?"  
        Derek was about to answer but Deaton groans. I look back at him and find him in the most uncomfortable position. I begin to move back to fix him but Derek stops me.   
        "You can't go back there."   
        "Why not?" I ask him.   
        "Because he could be that Alpha. Better yet, you could help him escape."   
        I roll my eyes and sit back down. Before I knew it we arrived at the school. Scott and Stiles waited for us in the parking lot as we parked. We got out and Scott quickly asked for Deaton.   
        "Where's my boss?"   
        "He's in the back." Derek answers.   
        "Oh well, he looks comfortable." Stiles sarcastically says.   
        "I tried my best to make him comfortable but he wouldn't let me." I say motioning toward Derek. He just rolls his eyes and scoffs.  
        "By any chance..." Stiles starts of. "Do you have your keys to the school doors?"   
        "Yeah," I say taking them out of my pocket. Stiles quickly grabs them from my hand and starts to walk towards the school. Scott following after him.   
        "Wait! Hey!" Derek shouts at them. "What are you doing?"   
        "You said I was linked with the Alpha. I'm gonna see if you're right." Scott answers. Stiles and Scott then start walking to the school and disappear through the doors. I look back into the backseat and quickly set Deaton upright. While I did that, I slipped the small dagger I usually carry around into the palm of his hands. I hear him groan and I quickly step out of the car. Derek looks at me suspiciously.   
        "What were you doing?" he asks.   
        "Making sure he doesn't suffocate himself through your leather seats." I answer as I stand beside him. I lean into his car while we wait for Scott to start his plan.   
        "Where did you run off to last night?" I ask him. "After you visited Scott?"   
        Derek gives me a side glance before starring back at the school.   
        "I went back to my house. Stayed there awake till dawn and then I started my search for the Alpha."   
        "Good," I say as I nodded. "That's good. I got worried and..."   
        "Don't say things like that." Derek states. I look over at him confused. "And don't look at me like that."   
        "I...uh...I'm sorry." I say as I look away.   
        "Please just stop doing that!" Derek exclaims. I turn to him startled and before I knew it we were in the same compromising position of last night. Except this time, Derek was looking at me angrily and I was actually scared.   
        "What are you doing...?" I ask him.   
        "I know what I said." Derek states more calmly. "I know that I said I would take the hint but I can't deny that we are alike. That I look at you and I know you understand the way I am. And I like that. I like that a lot about you."   
        I look at him unsure of what I felt about what he said.   
        "Believe me, Derek, I wanted to kiss you but...but I..." I say as my mind goes blank as his lips distracted me of my coherent thought.   
        "But what?" he asks.   
        I was about to tell him how we would end up tragically but I wasn't given the chance. A cat-like screech echoes through the parking lot via the speakers in the school. Derek drops his head and lets me go.   
        "You've got to be kidding me."   
        I couldn't help but laugh at Scott's attempt of a howl. Derek looks over at me and starts to laugh too. Both of us couldn't stop laughing until a loud vibrating growl vibrates throughout what seemed like the whole city.  
        "I'm gonna kill him." Derek states as his expression returns to scowl.   
        "No you're not." I tell him.   
        "I'm definitively going to kill him."  
        I just shake my head as Scott and Stiles make their way out towards us.   
        "I'm gonna kill both of you!" Derek exclaims. "What the hell was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"   
        "Seriously Scott, that could of brought us a lot of unnecessary attention. Do I have to remind you of the hunters? Or about the regular human beings that think it's all rainbows and sunshines? What were you thinking?!"  
        "Sorry, I didn't know it would be that loud." Scott apologizes.   
        "Yeah, it was loud!" Stiles says with a goofy grin. "and it was AWESOME!"   
        "Shut up," Derek tells him.   
        "Don't be such a sour wolf." Stiles replies back. I couldn't help the smile on my face as I heard that.   
        "Sour wolf," I repeat as I turn to Derek with a grin. "I like that."   
        Derek just rolls his eyes at me. Scott takes a look at the backseat of the camaro and tenses up.   
        "What'd you do to him?" he asks. We both turn to where he's facing and find Deaton gone. I sigh in relief but soon find myself unknowingly tensing up.  
        "What? I didn't do anything..." Derek trails off and as I turn to face him I find Derek suspended mid-air with blood spilling out of his mouth. The Alpha was right behind him, claws protruding through Derek's back into his abdomen. I felt the stinging of his wound that quickly faded away. Instinct kicked in and I quickly push Scott and Stiles behind me. The Alpha lets out a loud growl and throws Derek across the parking lot. I see his body bounce back from a wall and he doesn't move. He seemed dead. Before I could get an attack on the Alpha he disappears and with it he takes my strength.   
        


	14. Night School

        My mind was in complete shock. All I could see was the repeated image of Derek being thrown across the parking lot and falling dead. Part of me hoped that he was alive but no one could survive that. No one should be able to survive that. I was in such a shock that I didn't feel Scott yelling my name and dragging me inside the school. It wasn't until Stiles and Scott slammed the doors closed did I recover.   
        "Lock it, lock it!" Scott shouts out.   
        "Do I look like I have the keys?" Stiles shouts back. I walk up to them and hold the doors closed.   
        "What do you mean you don't have the keys?" I ask him. "Stiles, where did my keys go?!"   
        Stiles looks at me and then turns outside.   
        "I dropped them when we ran inside."   
        "You idiots!" I shout. "Grab something!"   
        "What?" Stiles asks.   
        "Anything!" I shout back. Stiles then turns to look outside again. I see what he's looking at and Scott does too.   
        "No..." Scott whispers.   
        "Yes." Stiles states.   
        Before either of us could do anything, Stiles steps outside and reaches for the bolt cutter on the ground. My eyes searches the parking lot for any sign of the Alpha and once I thought we were in the clear, he emerges from behind Stiles' jeep.   
        "Run! Stiles!" Scott begins to shout.   
        "Stiles, get out of there!!"   
        Stiles turns to the Alpha and quickly runs inside. He jams the bolt cutters through the door handles. We look outside again searching for the Alpha that once again disappears.   
        "Where is it? Where did it go?" Scott asks us. I just shrug my shoulders. "That won't hold, will it?"   
        "Probably not." I answer.   
        Both of them turn around to the empty hallways that were dark and casted with shadows. The only sound was our heavy breathing until a howl echoes across the school. Scott and Stiles turn to look at me and we all begin to run. We run into a classroom where they begin to move a desk in front of the door. The screeching of the desk and floor making too much of a noise.  
        "Stop. You guys, stop!" I whisper at them. "The desk. The door. It's not gonna keep him out."   
        "I know," Scott mutters.   
        "It's your boss." Stiles states.   
        "What?" Scott and I both ask.   
        "Deaton, the alpha, your boss." Stiles states.   
        "No," Scott replies.   
        "Yes, murdering psycho werewolf." Stiles repeats.   
        "That can't be." Scott continues to defend.   
        "Oh come on, he disappears, and that thing shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek 20 fee through the air. That's not convenient timing?"   
        "It's not him." I say loudly shutting both of them up.   
        "He killed Derek." Stiles tells me.   
        "No, Derek's not dead." I tell them.   
        "Blood spurted out of his mouth, okay? That doesn't exactly qualify as a minor injury. He's dead and we're next." Stiles nervously rants.   
        "Listen to me, Stiles. First of all, Deaton is my brother and I would know if he's the Alpha and he's not. He's human like you. Now I can't explain to you how he disappeared but I will assure you he's not the one hunting us down. Second, Derek's not dead. He's not. I refuse to believe that we got this far for him to get himself killed. And third, we're not going to die tonight...not if I can help it."   
        Stiles and Scott seem to relax as I say this.   
        "Okay, so what do we do?" Scott asks me.   
        "I offer that we get to my jeep, we get out of here, and we move to Mexico." Stiles answers. I give him a glare and turn to the windows. I walk up to them trying to get them open but they wouldn't move.   
        "They don't open. The school's climate-controlled."   
        "Then we break it." Scott offers up.   
        "That would make a lot of noise." I tell him.   
        "Then, uh, then we run really fast. Really fast." Scott states as he walks up to the window with me. "Stiles, what's wrong with the hood of your jeep?"   
        I look over to find that Stiles' jeep bent in a strange angle.   
        "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." Stiles states as he stands beside Scott and I.   
        "It's bent." Scott replies.   
        "What, like, dented?" Stiles says struggling to see through the darkness of the night.   
        "No, it's seriously bent." I say as I look at it.    
        "What the hell..." Stiles remarks before the shattering of the window causes all of us to duck. Glass pieces cut a bit of my face and in the floor across from us was a car's battery.   
        "That's my battery." Stiles states.   
        "Don't." I say as I grab onto Stiles from standing up.   
        "We have to move." Stiles tells me.   
        "He could be right outside." I reply.   
        "He is right outside."  
        "Let me take a look and I'll give you the sign to go, ok?" I tell him. Stiles and Scott nervously nod. I slowly get up and look outside. The parking lot was empty and I saw no signs of the Alpha and it's whereabouts.   
        "Nothing?" Stiles asks.   
        "No." I whisper.   
        "Move now?" he asks.   
        "Yeah," I say. We make our way outside the classroom and back into the hallway.   
        "This way." Scott states starting to move left. I grab his coat and stop him.   
        "We can't go that way." I tell him.   
        "What?" Scott asks.   
        "We need somewhere without windows."   
        "Every single room in this building has windows." Stiles informs me.   
        "Then somewhere with less windows."   
        "The locker room." Scott offers up.   
        "Sounds good." I tell them. I look farther down the hallway and knew my office was close. "You two head there and I'll catch up with you soon."   
        "What?" Scott exclaims. "I'm not letting you go alone."   
        "Yeah, he's right. In scary movies, people who are on their own always end up dying."   
        I look at Stiles annoyed.   
        "I'm a trained Alpha. I'll be fine." I tell them. "I just need to grab some supplies from my office. It'll only take a second. Now, go!"   
        Scott and Stiles look at each other and hesitantly start the opposite direction. I take a deep breath and quickly head to my office. Under the sink I grabbed my to-go bag. I open it to find two guns, an array of throwing knives, new identity, and extra clothing. I tie my hair up, zip up the bag, and make my way to the locker room.   
        I hear slamming and yelling when I start to get near. I start running and all I find is the janitor throwing Scott and Stiles out of the locker room.   
        "God, just one second to explain." Stiles tells him.  
        "Just shut up and go." he replies back.    
        "What the hell did you guys...?" I begin to ask but I don't finish my question as the janitor is dragged inside and screams filled the air. I drop my bag as I run up to the door. Scott tries to get in but I push him out.   
        "Go, both of you go." I shout. Scott and Stiles run down the hallway. I grab my bag and run after them. We reach another set of doors. Scott and Stiles start pushing against them trying to open them but they didn't move.   
        "What the hell?" Stiles asks.   
        "It's a dumpster." I tell them as I look outside. "He pushed it in front of the door to block us in."   
        Stiles continues to ram himself on the door.   
        "Come on, help me." Stiles exclaims to both of us.   
        "Stop." I tell him.   
        "I'm not dying here!" Stiles shouts out me. "I'm not dying at school."  
        I grab him by his shoulders and turn him to face me.   
        "I already told you that we're not going to die."   
        I pull the strap of my bag closer to my shoulder and walk down the hallway.   
        "We need a new plan." I tell them.   
        "Call your dad." Scott tells Stiles.   
        "And tell him what?" Stiles asks.   
        "I don't know, anything. Gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees the parking lot filled with cop cars, it'll take off."   
        "The other reaction would be he'll go all killer spree and kill everyone in sight." I say. "We're not calling the police. They can't help with something like this. What we need is to find a way out. Once we do, we run."   
        "There's nothing near the school for at least a mile." Stiles tells me.   
        "What about Derek's car?" Scott asks. I stop as I hear this.   
        "That could actually work." Stiles states. "We go outside, we get the keys off his body, and then we take his car."   
        "And him." I say.   
        "What?" Stiles asks.  
        "We're taking Derek with us. Dead or alive. We're not leaving him." I state.   
        We continue to walk down the hallway in a quick pace. This time in silence which allowed Stiles to go back to his ADD nervous state.   
        "What is he doing? What does he want with us?" Stiles asks.   
        "Me." Scott answers. "Derek says it's stronger with a pack."   
        "He's right. The Alpha wants power. Scott can give it to him. It'll make him faster, stronger, and even more harder to kill."   
        "Well that's...that's beautiful." Stiles exclaims.   
        I stop walking as the hair in the back of my neck extended. Scott and Stiles stop walking once they noticed that I was left behind. I couldn't help but turn to the right knowing that something was watching me. I scan the trees, the parking lot, and the cars but find nothing. It wasn't until I look to the building across from me did I notice the prowling Alpha. Once I took notice of it he started to make his way to us.   
        "Run, everyone run, now!" I shout as I grab Stiles and Scott and pull them down the hallway. The Alpha crashes through the window and starts to follow us. I push Stiles and Scott ahead. We push through another set of doors and run down the stairs. We keep on running, turning left and right with each hallway we met. Soon, we stop besides some lockers. I could feel the Alpha getting close and I knew we couldn't stay here long. I take a deep breath and let it go.   
        I stand up and nudge Scott and Stiles to continue running. We make it down to the basement that limited our escape route.   
        "Alright, we're kind of stuck here." I say as I look around. "We're going to have to do something."   
        "Like what?" Scott asks.   
        "Umm, distract it, kill it, hurt it. Just something to give us a fighting chance." I say as I kneel down and drop the bag in front of me. I open it and pull out a gun.   
        "Uhh, isn't having a gun on school property illegal?" Stiles asks me.   
        "It is, but it's come handy twice now." I say as I remember the mountain lion in the parking lot. "I already discussed it with your dad. I can keep it as long as it's on safety, which right now, it isn't."   
        "But a gun's useless against it." Stiles tells me. "It took a wolfs-bane laced bullet to slow down Derek. Unless you have some of those we're screwed."   
        "Aren't you Mr.Pessimistic tonight?" I mutter as I load up the gun. "If you know how to aim perfectly, you should be fine against a werewolf."  
        "And can you aim perfectly?" Stiles asks me.   
        "What do you think?" I reply back.   
        I could hear the Alpha getting closer.   
        "You two need to be ready to back me up." I whisper as motion them behind the door. I could hear the Alpha's breathing down the hallway as it made his way here. I aimed the gun across the hallway and shoot. The Alpha hearing this runs towards my aimed direction. Scott and Stiles then push the metal door closed trapping him inside the basement. Stiles and Scott then push a desk in front of the door preventing it from opening. I sigh in relief.   
        "I thought you were going to kill him." Scott tells me. I just shake my head as I calm down my fast-beating heart.   
        "Like Stiles said, bullets can only do so much. This was all I could do without getting us killed."   
        "What are you doing?" I ask as I see Stiles trying to look at the Alpha.   
        "I just wanna get a look at it." Stiles states.   
        I shake my head as I look around.   
        "Are you crazy?" Scott asks him.   
        "Look, it's trapped, okay? It's not gonna get out." Stiles answers. He climbs on top of the desk that blocked the door and looks through the door. "Yeah, that's right, we got you..."   
        "Stiles, stop doing that. You're going to get him more pissed than he already is."   
        "I'm not scare of this thing." Stiles states. "Yeah, I'm not scared of you. Right, cause you're in there, and we're out here. You're not going any..."   
        The Alpha then rams into the door which causes Stiles to fall off the desk and onto the floor. I hear crashing and I quickly turn to look at the Alpha. Once again, he disappeared and this time, through the ceiling.   
        "God dammit Stiles, I told you." I say as I grab them by their jackets and start to drag them away again.

*********

        We were by the boilers and ready to head up when Scott stops us. I look at him confused when I see him trying to listen to something. In the distance I hear a phone ring.   
        "Are you serious?" I ask.  
        "What?" Stiles. "What happened?"   
        "It sounds like a phone's ringing." Scott answers.   
        "Who else could be here tonight?" I ask.   
        "I know that ring." Scott states as his face grows worried. "It's Allison's phone."    
        "We need to get to her." I state. "The Alpha's going to kill anyone tonight. We need to find her."   
        Scott turns to Stiles and asks him for his phone. Stiles gives it to him and Scott immediately begins to dial. I motion for them to continue walking as we waited for Allison to answer.   
         _"Stiles?" Allison asks confused._  
        "No, it's me, where are you?" Scott asks her.   
         _"I'm in the school looking for you, why weren't you at my place?" she asks._  
        Scott ignores her question and repeats his question.   
        "Where are you  **right** now?" Scott asks her.   
         _"On the first floor."_    
        "Where? Where are you exactly?"   
         _"The swimming pools."_  
        "Tell her to meet us in the lobby." I say as we reach the main floor. Scott nods and tells her to find us there. We reach the lobby in no time and find Allison there.  
        "Why did you come? What are you doing here?" Scott asks her.   
        "Because you asked me to." Allison replies.   
        "I asked you to?" Scott asks confused.   
        "Why do I get the feeling you didn't send this message?" Allison asks as she shows us the text.   
        "Because I didn't." Scott answers.   
        "Did you drive here?" I ask her as I look around the hallways.   
        "Jackson, did." Allison answers as she turns to me. She then looks at Scott confused and whispers at him. She clearly didn't know I could hear her.  _"What is she doing here?"_  
        "I'll explain later." Scott states. "Wait, Jackson's here too?"   
        "And Lydia. What's going on? Who sent this text?" Allison asks us before her phone rings. Before she could answer it Lydia and Jackson find us.  
        "Finally." Lydia states. "Can we go now?"   
        The ceiling arounds us begins to creak and I turn to everyone.   
        "Run!!" I shout. Everyone does as I say and start to go up the stairs. I run after them and they all head inside the cafeteria. I close the door but before I could think of our next plan, Scott and Jackson start placing things in front of the door. I get out of their way and scan the room.   
        "Scott, wait not here." I say as I look at the windows. Stiles seeing my dilemma tries to make them stop.   
        "What was that?" Allison asks as she remains in the corner with Lyda. "Scott, what was that?"   
        "What came out of the ceiling?" Lydia asks us.   
        "Will you just help me?" Scott asks out loud. "The chairs, stack the chairs."  
        The girls, Scott, and Jackson continue to block the door ignoring Stiles and I.   
        "Guys, can we just wait a second?" Stiles asks. "You guys, listen to me, w... can we wait a second? Guys? Stiles talking. Can we hang on one second, please?"   
        "EVERYONE STOP!" I shout. Luckily everyone does and scaredly turns to me. "Nice work with the stacking and the blocking, but like Stiles and I have been trying to call your attention for is, what are we going to do with the 20 foot wall of windows?"   
        They all turn to the wall of windows beside me and begin to panic once again.   
        "Can somebody please explain to me what's going on, because I'm freaking out here. And I would like to know why." Allison states.   
        I couldn't help but laugh quietly and shake my head at her. I walk to the other side of the room and look out the window. So much for her being an Argent.   
        "Scott?" Allison calls out waiting for an answer.  
        Scott doesn't say anything and turns away. Silence fills the room. Seeing Scott struggle I decide to speak up.   
        "Somebody killed the janitor." I state not even glancing their way.   
        "What?" Lydia asks.   
        "Yeah, the janitor's dead." Stiles confirms.  
        "What are they talking about?" Allison asks. "Is this a joke?"   
        "Do you think I would joke about this?" I ask as I turn to her. She just shakes her head at me and remains silent.   
        "Who killed him?" Jackson asks. I just shrug my shoulders.   
        "I don't know." I say.   
        "No, no, no, no. This was supposed to be over. The mountain lion killed..." Lydia begins to ramble before Jackson interrupts her.   
        "No, don't you get it? There wasn't a mountain lion."   
        "Who was it?" Allison asks. "What does he want? What's happening? Scott!"   
        "I... I don't know. I...I just...if...if we go out there, he's gonna kill us." Scott answers rashly.   
        "Us?" Lydia asks. "He's gonna kill us?"   
        "Who? Who is it?" Allison asks.   
        I was about to tell them that we didn't know but Scott being already on edge answers before me.   
        "It's Derek. It's Derek Hale."  
        "Scott, you've got to be kidding me!" I shout. Scott looks at me nervously but I just turn away angrily. "That's not true. Derek..."   
        "Derek killed the janitor?" Jackson asks.   
        "Are you sure?" Allison asks him.  
        "I saw him." Scott answers.   
        "The mountain lion..." Lydia states trying to repair her fragile mind.   
        "No! Derek killed them." Scott exclaims.   
        "All of them?" Allison asks.   
        "Yeah, starting with his own sister." Scott continues.   
        "The bus driver?" Allison asks.   
        "And the guy in the video store...it's been Derek the whole time. He's in here with us and if we don't get out now... he's going to kill us too." .  
        I just shake my head angrily but don't say anything. We were far too deep to get ourselves out.   
        "Call the cops." Jackson states.   
        "No." I call out.   
        "Wh-What do you mean,  _no_?" Jackson asks stepping towards me.   
        "I mean no. You wanna hear it in Spanish?  _NO."_ I state.   
        Stiles steps in between us trying to defuse the tension.   
        "Look, Derek killed three people, ok? We don't know what he's armed with."   
        I scoff as we continue to blame Derek and return to looking out the window. Watching to see if the Alpha would make an appearance soon.   
        "Your dad is armed with an entire sheriff's department. Call him." Jackson demands.   
        "I'm calling." Lydia states as she pulls out her phone.   
        "No, Lydia, would you just hold on a sec..." Stiles states but Lydia had already dialed.   
        "You idiots..." I mutter as they continued to make bad decisions.   
        "Yes, we're at Beacon Hills High School. We're trapped and we need you to...but..." Lydia states before she goes quiet. "She hung up on me."   
        "The police hung up on you?" I ask confused. I walk back to them knowing that something was severely wrong with this situation.   
        "She said they got a tip warning them that there are gonna be prank calls about a break in the high school." Lydia tells us. "She said if I called again that they're gonna trace it and have me arrested."   
        "Okay then call again." Allison demands.   
        "No, they won't trace a cell and they'll send a car to your house before they send anyone here." Stiles informs us.   
        "What the... what... what is this?" Allison asks desperately. "Why does Derek wanna kill us? Why is he killing anyone?"  
        I turn to Scott waiting for him to give another bogus answers. Scott looks up and stares at everyone nervously.  
        "Why's everyone looking at me?"   
        "Because it seems you've got all the answers." I tell him with a hint of sarcasm.   
        "Is he the one that sent her the text?" Lydia asks him.   
        "No. I mean, I don't know."   
        "Is he the one that called the police?" Allison asks him.   
        "I don't know!" Scott yells at her. Stiles and I push him aside as we see Allison's shocked expression.   
        "Alright, why don't we ease back on the throttle here, yeah?" Stiles asks him. We lead him to the other side of the room.   
        "Way to push Derek under the bus." I mutter.   
        "I didn't know what to say. I had to say something. And if he's dead then it doesn't matter, right?"   
        "No Scott, it does matter." I state. "If Derek is dead hen he'll be known as a murderer for eternity. He doesn't deserve that. And if he's alive, which deep down I have a feeling that he is, he's going to bite your head off. That's if I don't do it first."  
        Scott just groans and looks beat down.   
        "I'm sorry...oh god I'm sorry." Scott states.   
        "Moving on from that... how do we get out alive?" Stiles asks us.   
        "It could've killed us already." Scott states. "It's like it's cornering us or something."   
        "So what, he wants to eat us all at the same time?" Stiles asks.   
        "No, this thing wants revenge." I tell him.   
        "Against who?" Stiles asks.   
        "Allison's family?" Scott offers up.   
        "Maybe that's what the text was about." I say. "Someone had to send it."   
        "Okay assheads and umm what's your face..." Jackson states as he grabs our attention. "New plan. Stiles calls his useless dad and tells him to send someone with a gun and decent aim. Are we good with that?"   
        I begin to shake my head but Scott agrees with him.   
        "He's right. Tell him the truth if you have to, just...just call him."   
        "This is a really bad idea." I state.  
        "I agree. I'm not watching my dad get eaten alive." Stiles whispers to us.   
        Jackson grows tired of our refusal and reaches for Stiles.   
        "Alright, give me the phone."   
        Stiles just turns to him and swings his fist towards Jackson's face. Jackson falls to the ground holding his nose.   
        "Whoa there... Stiles calm down." I say as I push Stiles away from Jackson. Allison kneels down beside Jackson seeing if he's okay. Stiles seeing no other choice pulls out his phone and calls his dad.   
        "Hey," I say as the phone dials. "I'll make sure to protect him once he gets here."   
        Stiles gives me a hesitant nod before he speaks into the phone.   
        "Dad, hey, its me." Stiles then sighs. "And it's your voice mail. Look, I need you to call me back now. Like, right now. We're at the school..." the blocked door starts to rattle as the Alpha tries to get through. "Dad, we're at the school."   
        The doors continue to rattle and start to crack open.   
        "The kitchen, the door out of the kitchen leads to the stairwell."   
        "Which only goes up." Scott states worriedly.   
        "Up is better than here." I answer. "Go, everyone go!"   
        We go out sprinting again but my bag gets caught on the handle. I try to yank it out but it was no use and I was running out of time. I place the gun on my waistband and take out my set of knives. The Alpha tears up my bag which gave me the distraction I needed to sprint away from him.


	15. Alpha Stand-Off

        I followed everyone into the chem lab. I place a chair on the door jamming it close. Everyone was breathing heavily and I knew that would give us away. Oddly enough the Alpha passes by without giving us a second glance. We needed to get out of here and soon.  
        "Jackson, how many people can fit in your car?" Scott asks.   
        "Five, six if someone squeezes on someone's lap." he answers.   
        "Five?" Allison asks. "I barely fit in the back!"   
        "Well, it doesn't matter. There's no getting out without drawing attention." I tell them.   
        "What about this?" Stiles asks motioning to another door. "This leads to the roof. We can go down the fire escape to the parking lot in, like, seconds."   
        "Stiles, that's a deadbolt. We're going to need a key and since you left mine outside in the parking lot..." I say as I trail off.   
        "The janitor." Scott states. "The janitor has a key."   
        "You mean his body has it." Stiles states.   
        "I can get it. I can track him by scent, by blood." I state pushing off the wall that I was leaning on.   
        "That sounds like an incredibly terrible idea." Stiles states.   
        "What else can we do?" I ask him. "I promised both of you that I was going to protect you. Now it turns out I have three more people I need to get out of here alive. I'm doing what I have to do!"   
        "You're not going out there alone." Scott states. "I'm coming with you."   
        "Scott, no." I state but Scott wasn't having it.   
        "We're better in numbers. Besides what if the Alpha appears? How are you supposed to fight him without leading him here? You need me."   
        I shake my head not liking what he said, but it was true. I needed someone that could get here if I couldn't. I turn to Stiles and pull the gun out of my waistband. I discreetly put it inside his coat as I leaned into his ear.   
        "If neither of us get back..." I say taking a deep breath trying to keep my voice stable. "I need you to get them out of here. Shoot, kill, throw it...whatever needs to be done for all of you to come out of this alive. You got me?"   
        Stiles gulps and takes a nod, holding the gun through his pocket.   
        "Good. Scott, let's go." I say motioning him to the door.   
        Allison seeing this looks at him in disbelief.   
        "Are you serious?"  
        "We're getting the key." he answers.   
        "Scott, you can't..."   
        "It's our best plan." Scott tells her. "Someone has to get the key if we wanna get out of here and I'm not letting Diana do this alone."   
        Allison looks at me nervously and turns back to Scott.   
        "You can't go out there unarmed." Allison tells us.   
        "Who says we are?" I ask her. I pull out the rolled up set of knives and extend it for her to see. "I'm well armed."   
        "Well he's not." Allison states looking at him. "There's gotta be something."   
        "There is." Lydia says finally looking up at us. She motions to the shelf of chemicals.   
        "What are we gonna do? Throw acid on him?" Stiles asks her skeptically.   
        "No." Lydia states with a roll of her eyes. "Like a fire bomb. In there is everything you need to make a self-igniting molotov cocktail."   
        "Self-igniting..." I say.   
        "Molotov Cocktail." Lydia says finishing my sentence. I look at her surprised. "What? I read it somewhere."   
        "Girl got brains." I state.  
        "We don't have a key for that." Stiles states seeing that the chemicals were locked up too. I roll my eyes and was about to tell him we could easily break through the glass when Jackson beat me to the punch and did that himself.   
        "And boy got muscle." I mutter.   
        Lydia grabs all the things she needs and quickly begins to make the molotov cocktail. She asks Jackson for the sulfuric acid and once she puts that in, she bottled it up and handed it to Scott.   
        "No. No, this is insane, you can't do this. You cannot go out there." Allison states nervously.   
        "We can't just sit here waiting for Stiles' dad to check his messages." Scott tells her.   
        "You could die. Don't you get that? He's killed three people."   
        "And we're next." I tell her. "Somebody has to do something."   
        Scott nods at that but Allison wasn't ready to let him go.   
        "Scott, just stop. Do you remember- do you remember when you told me you knew whether or not I was lying? That I had a tell." Scott nods. "Well, so do you. You're a horrible liar and you've been lying all night. Just...just please...please don't go. Please don't leave us. Please."   
        "Scott, you don't have to..." I begin to say realizing the hard situation he was in but Scott shakes his head at me and faces Allison.   
        "Lock it behind us."  
        Scott then turns away ignoring Allison's pleas. I look at him unsurely but he seemed determined to come with me. I give one last glance at all the teenagers, settling on Stiles who nods at me. I turn away and open the door. Scott and I walking into the wolf's den. 

************

        Scott and I quietly make our way through the hallways and down the stairs. Nothing lighting our ways but the moon outside. Scott held the chemical cocktail tightly with his right hand while [I held knives in mine](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=178461944). We get down to the first floor where I make Scott stop walking.   
        "I need you to track him." I tell him.   
        "Why?" he asks me. "Can't you do it?"   
        I sigh and look down the hallway.   
        "I can but that's if I'm in my whole wolf form and I can't shift without the Alpha noticing me. I could also try my between stage, where I look like you and Derek do in werewolf state, but I'm at my weakest. You're going to have to do it."   
        "Ok but how?" he asks.   
        "It should be easy now that you have control. You'll just have to channel your werewolf sense of scent. Take a deep breath and let your wolf do the rest."   
        Scott does as he's told. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then immediately starts to walk. He heads through the doors and I follow after him. His eyes search through the hallways and then he turns towards the gym. I start being more attentive as I soon caught the scent of blood. The gym was dark with only shadows of light in certain areas. I turn to the extended bleachers knowing that the blood smell the strongest in that area.   
        "You go in and get the keys." I tell Scott. "I'll stay out here and keep watch."   
        Scott nods and heads in. I look around the gym seeing nothing. A few seconds later, Scott calls out to say he found him and the keys. I don't say anything in fear that the Alpha would hear me. I continue to keep watch until I see the bleachers starting to close in on each other.   
        "Scott! Get out of there! It's a trap!" I shout but Scott doesn't move.  
        "I'm close to getting the keys!" He shouts. "The Alpha but the body to high for me to reach!"   
        "I don't care! Get out now!"   
        Scott refuses to leave until he grabs the keys. By then the bleachers were closing in faster and I had a feeling Scott was about to be smashed in. I see him running towards me, trying to beat the concaving bleachers, as he jumped over the metal beams. The bleachers almost had him and I quickly reach my arm out towards him and pull him out. Scott lands on top of me. Both of us were breathing heavily in fear of what almost happened.   
        "Idiots...the lot of you." I mutter as I sit up. Scott gets off of me and helps me stand up. I was ready to head out when I heard a growl from the other side of the gym. I look up and find red eyes looking at both of us. I push Scott behind me and raise my knives higher.   
        "Scott...get out of here." I tell him.   
        "No, not without you."   
        "Scott!" I shout but Scott doesn't move. Instead he raises the cocktail and throws it to the Alpha. It smashes but doesn't do anything. No flames. No ignition. Nothing. Scott stiffens up as the Alpha turns to us even more angry than he was before. I push Scott through the doors. "Get out, now!"   
        "Diana, I can't..."   
        "Please Scott, I've been trained for this. Just go. Save your friends." I state turning my back on him. Luckily Scott does what I told him and he leaves the gym. I turn to the Alpha who's looking at me predatorily.   
        "Usually, I let a man buy me a drink before I strip down. For you, just a really good fight."   
        The Alpha runs towards me and I quickly stab him and send him over me. I thought I had more time to recover but the Alpha was quickly on it's feet and charging towards me again. I throw the knives at him and he yelps in pain but continues moving towards me. As I reach for the knives in my boot, the Alpha attacks me and pins me down onto the floor. I try to kick him off of me but he wouldn't move. Instead he sniffs me, down my neck and to my stomach, before looking up at me. His red eyes lock into mine as he extends his jaw and gives out a howl.   
        It vibrates through every cell in my body activating the wolf inside me. I start crawling on the floor my bones starting to break and shift into places I didn't want them to be.   
        "No, no, no, no, no!" I shout as I felt my claws extending and my teeth protruding. The Alpha lets go of me as I claw the ground trying to gain back control. I was in my between state, claws out, teeth out, hair on my face, and red eyes shining. The Alpha circles me and stands up on his hind legs. Before I could stop his attack, he backhands me on the face, sending me flying across the gym and into the wall.  
        Blood falls down my face as I feel a deep cut in my head. The pain snapped me back to my human form. I tried to open my eyes to find the Alpha but the blood blinded me. I was to weak to wipe the blood of and I was healing very slowly. I remain on the floor ready for the Alpha to finish me off but what happens instead scares me even more. The Alpha lets out a scratchy laugh, a human one.   
         _"Tonight, I'll let you go. Next time, I won't."_  
        I wanted to say something back. That this won't happen again. That next time I'll beat him but my mind was growing hazy and I soon fell into the darkness that was beckoning to me. 

************

        I open my eyes to a bright light. I see the Sheriff looking down at me with a flashlight on my face. I saw his mouth moving but no sound coming out. He extends his hand out to me and I take it. I stand up and it all comes back to me.   
        "Ms. Ross, are you ok?" he asks but I ignore it. I look around the gym seeing cops searching around. I turn to him afraid and shake my head.   
        "The kids, where are they? Did you find them? Are they ok?" I ask him rapidly. Sheriff Stilinski starts to lead me away but I didn't want to move. "Sheriff, I need to know!"   
        "Everyone's fine. Found them in the chemistry room. Everyone's ok, no harm done to them."   
        I sigh in relief and let him escort me out.   
        "Scott and Stiles told me Derek Hale is the one who did all of this. Was he the one who attacked you?" 

        I shake my head and touch the cut on my head.   
        "No, he didn't...maybe. I don't know." I say trying to give him a non-usable answer. I didn't want to blame Derek but Scott and Stiles had already pointed their fingers on him so I had to as well.   
        "Ok then, we'll start a search for him soon. For now, we need to get that nasty cut taken care of."   
        "No really, I'm fine." I tell him but Sheriff still leads me towards the ambulance.   
        "Your brother is waiting for you there..."   
        "My brother?" I ask him.  
        "Yeah, Dr.Deaton is being checked up too. I didn't know you two were related. Explains a lot. I'll take you to him so you can get checked out too."   
        I nod remembering that Deaton was here with us too but managed to escape. Question was, why was he still here?  
        Sheriff drops me off at the ambulance. Deaton was sitting on the edge getting checked on. I sit beside him as the paramedics start to clean and bandage my head wound.  
        "Thanks for helping me escape." Deaton states. I look over at him and nod. The paramedic wraps me in a blanket and leaves. Allowing me to talk to Deaton in privacy.   
        "I did what I had to do." I tell him. "Derek couldn't find out what you are or how you're linked to me but he couldn't keep you hostage anymore. I'm sorry for coming to your rescue a little too late."   
        "Don't worry, I came out fine. But what about you, I'm assuming that cut is a battle wound."   
        "Yeah, the Alpha and I fought. He managed to get me into my between state which gave him the advantage. He threw me into a wall and I passed out." I look away into the parking lot as I said this, catching sight of Derek's abandoned car. I lean my head onto Deaton's shoulder.  
        "Derek's dead. The Alpha killed him."   
        Deaton takes a deep breath before answering.   
        "He's not dead."  
        I look up at him confused.  
        "He's not dead because I saved him. I dragged him to the edge of the woods. Out of the Alpha's reach." Deaton tells me. "That's why I was still here. The police caught sight of me as I got out of the woods."   
        "You can't be serious..." I say refusing to believe him. I actually though he died. I was only hoping that he was this whole time but now there was proof.   
        "I'm not lying, Diana. He should be on his way to your cabin. You'll find him there."   
        I throw off the blanket around me and stand up. I give Deaton a peck on the cheek.   
        "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I tell him. I turn to start heading to my house but Deaton calls out to me.   
        "Diana, you should be careful." he states. I turn back to him confused. "There's nothing wrong about caring for Derek but if you two start a relationship, whichever kind it'll be, he's going to have to know. Trust is essential and with someone like Derek, trust is very critical."   
        I give him a silent nod and make my way to the woods. Once in them, I start to sprint home.


	16. Open Wounds

       I run until I find myself in the clearing of my house. I quickly make my way to the porch seeing no sign of Derek. I look around the dimly lit forest searching for him when something clutches my ankle. I let out a small scream but relax as I see Derek sprawled out in the shadows of my porch.   
        "God dammit Derek." I state as I pull him up. I hug him glad that he was alive but barely. "You can't scare me like that."   
        "I'm bleeding..." he whispers.   
        "Right," I say as I lead him to the door. I open it quickly and rush him towards the sofa. He quickly drops into it, taking up the whole sofa in his laid state. I quickly rip off his shirt and inspect his wounds. Five holes went through his abdomen and back. I look up at Derek who had his eyes closed and breathing slowly.   
        "Why haven't you healed?" I ask him.   
        "Because wounds from an Alpha take longer to heal." he states. He opens his eyes and looks at me. His hands reaches for my head and touches the gauze that covered my cut. "What happened to you?"   
        "Alpha got to me too. He let me live...now let me take care of that for you." I say standing up to get the first aid kit. Derek grabs my wrist and pulls me down again.   
        "What do you mean  _he let you live_?" he asks.   
        "Derek, let me patch you up. We can talk about this later."   
        "No, tell me now." Derek exclaims. I shake my head and sit back down.   
        "There's not much to tell." I tell him. "We fought, he got the upper hand, made me shift to my between state, and knocked me out. Then he said that this time he would let me live. Next time, he won't. There you happy?"   
        I stand up and walk out of the living room letting Derek to think that over. I come back in and open up the first-aid kit. Derek continues to stare at me as I try my hardest to clean up his wounds and patch him up carefully. I wrap the gauze around him and tape him up. I was about to put everything away but Derek grabs my hand. I sit back down and look at him.   
        "What happened tonight..." he starts off but I interrupt him.   
        "We didn't expect that the Alpha would actually appear. We weren't ready."   
        "But we should have been more prepared. We should have been able to beat him tonight."   
        "No, we wouldn't have Derek." I tell him. "You almost died, again! And I had to save 5 kids tonight. It wasn't about me or you or your revenge. It was about survival and I had to save them before I could kill him. Even then he beat me. He won and if we face him again...he most likely will kill me."  
        Derek tries to sit up but his wounds stop him from doing so. I push him back down to his laid state and sit down on the floor so I could see him face to face.   
        "I won't let him kill you." he tells me. "I won't."   
        "In the shape you're in, that's not promising." I tell him. I shake my head and bite the nail on my thumb. "I don't think you should be anywhere near the Alpha. Your vendetta keeps on killing you, Derek. I think it would be the best if you go. Get out while you still can. Start again somewhere else."   
        "And then what?" Derek asks me. "Forget what happened here? Forget about my sister? The Alpha? Scott? Even you?"   
        I remain silent as I hear this.   
        "Diana, I don't know if you understand but this is all I have. Revenge. Other than that all I have is a burned down house and a black shiny car. Killing the Alpha is the most valuable thing to me right now. I'm not leaving."  
        I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.   
        "You were always stubborn..." I whisper as I look up at him. Derek gives me a faint smile. "I should let you rest. You definitively need it if you're going to take longer to heal."   
        I stand up to head to my room when Derek grabs my wrist again.   
        "You should stay..." he whispers. "Just in case I need all-night care."  
        His eyes look straight into mine when he said this. The room grows silent and Derek lets go of my hand. He closes his eyes ignoring the lingering question that he just asked. I remain frozen in my spot but soon find myself sitting on the ground, arms on my knees, as I watched over him.   
        "Sure," I say as I recline my head on the softness of the sofa. I reach over to the hand on his chest and [wrap my fingers](https://38.media.tumblr.com/b49a45e66feace065550b733a74c64b0/tumblr_nnk53kqKyP1ustr4go1_500.gif) around his. Derek opens his eyes in surprise but soon relaxes as I take away some of his pain.   
        "Why are you doing that?" he asks.   
        "It'll help you sleep if you don't feel any pain." I answer. I take the all the pain I could handle and was ready to let go when Derek clung to my hand tighter. I look up to him in question but his eyes were closed and his breathing was slow. He had fallen asleep during the transitioning and I hadn't notice. I let him cling to my hand, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine. I lay my head on the sofa again and close my eyes. I soon fell asleep and dreamt of two wolves chasing each other. 

**********

        I wake up through the blinding lights that illuminated the living room. I was about to stretch out my arms when something prevented my hand from moving. I look up to find Derek still holding it. I look at his sleeping feature. His face showing utter calmness. Something new for a person likeDerek. His eyes were closed, his hand clinging to mine, and his lips were partly open. I found myself hypnotized by the plushness of his light pink lips.  
        I could already imagine myself kissing them as my hand grasped the roughness of his chin to pull him closer. His mouth taking away every breath I had. His hands tangling in my hair... I got so distracted in this daydream that I barely noticed his green eyes looking at me. I glance up and we both became still. Seeing who would make the first move. He pushes himself up to get close to me but winces from his non-healed wounds. I break away from his stare and get up.   
        "I should...I need to get ready for...I..." I mutter as I stand up and motion to the exit. Derek looks up at me in pain, not sure if physically or emotionally, and I turn away. Without another word, I leave. I take deep breaths as I reach my room and quickly enter my bathroom. I lean on the door and find myself sliding down on it. I groan as I realize the gravitude of my situation. He can't like me not after all I've done.  
        I pull at my leather coat and peel of my tattered shirt. I look at myself [in the mirror ](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgrm/fullset/2012/11/26/1/GH2011_Master-Bathroom-Sink-Shower-Toilet_s4x3.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.960.jpeg)capturing my tired and disheveled look. I unwrap the gauze on my head and throw it away, my wound completely healed. I turn to look at my back and find the distinguishing mark of our hunter group, [ _La Cruz_](http://www.cuded.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/27-cross-inspired-tattoo.jpg). I scratch it like a scab that I want to get off but I knew I couldn't. I stare at with disgust and quickly take off my clothes and enter the shower. I turn the water to burning hot hoping that the ink would just melt off.   
  
         _I sit face forward on the leather seat. I look up at Marcos who crosses his arm and looks around in disinterest._  
         _"Let me get this straight..." I say as I remembered the lessons of the day. "Our family has been hunting creatures of the night because it's our destiny?"_  
         _"Because it's what our family does." Marcos corrects as he turns to me. "It used to be because of religious reasons but now we just do it because it's what we've done all these years. It's our birthright."_  
         _I pull my shirt over my head leaving my back bare. Marcos looks away._  
         _"So all this time, Cruz wasn't just Mom's maiden name, it was the legacy of what we were supposed to be."_  
         _Marcos silently nods, his eyes turning distant. I knew that look. He was remembering. I turn away and focus on the mirror across from me. I could see the difference that 6 months did to me. I looked older. My young face holding old logic. My eyes no longer held innocence just the beginning of utter destruction._  
         _"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" the tattoo artist asks as he comes in. His eyebrow was pierced and colorful tattoos covered his arm and part of his chest. I look up at him and just nod. Marcos decides to leave the room and joins my father outside in the waiting room._  
         _"So a Cross tattoo, huh?" he asks as he disinfects the top area of my back. "What does it mean?"_  
         _I look at myself in the mirror trying to find an answer._  
         _"La Cruz..." I whisper as I pictured the symbol. "It's a family thing."_  
         _The tattoo artist just hums and waits for me to say more, I don't._  
         _"So you're here with your brother and dad, how come they're letting you do this? You're just 16. I'm not judging but it's kind of strange."_  
         _"Like I said, it's a family thing." I state again. The tattoo artists grabs the tattoo gun and dips it in black ink._  
         _"Not talkative, are you?" he asks._  
         _"No, not anymore." I answer with a cold tone. The tattoo artist doesn't notice my darken expression instead focuses on the drawing that he had to print onto my back._  
         _"This is going to sting a lot, especially in this area of your back. If it hurts to much don't hesitate to holler."_  
         _I just nod and close my eyes waiting for the pain to arrive. Instead I feel the light trace of the metal needle in my back. The pain of a pricking needle on my back was nothing to the pain I endured in my past year of training. I felt nothing._  
  
         I get out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel. I enter my room and throw on a random pair of black leggings and hoodie. I put my hair up on a high ponytail before exiting my room. I walk down the hallway into the kitchen to find Derek trying to reach the box of cereal above the fridge. I quickly walk up to him and lead him to the chair. I turn back to the fridge and grab the box of cheerios. I grab a bowl from the cupboard and shake the cereal out. I take out the milk and pour it in. I grab a spoon from the drawer put it in the bowl and hand it to Derek. He gives me a thankful glance and starts to eat.   
        I watch him eat for a while before forcing myself to turn away. I make myself my own bowl of cereal and turn on the radio to eliminate the silence in the room. The first thing that it says catches both of our attention.  
         _"The search for Derek Hale begins today as announced by the police department of Beacon Hills. Derek Hale has been accused of the murder of his sister, Laura Hale, and many others, including an attack last night to a group of minors and a faculty employee, who remain unknown, in Beacon Hills High School. The school has been closed for the next few days due to investigation. If anyone see's Derek Hale or knows where he is don't approach him. This man is highly dangerous. Call the Fugitive Hotline in 1-800-...."_  
        Derek, despite his wounds, shoots up from his seat. He makes his way to the radio and shuts it off.   
        "Derek, let me explain..." I start to say but Derek wasn't having it.   
        "Why the hell are the police looking for me?!" he shouts. "Why do they think I was the one at the school?!"   
        I place my arms on Derek's shoulder and force him to sit down again.   
        "I'm going to explain what happened last night but you've got to promise me that you aren't going to kill Scott or Stiles after I tell you."   
        Derek just growls as I mention their names.   
        "What did Scott and Stiles do?" he asks.   
        "You've got to promise me that you won't go after them." I tell him. Derek just rolls his eyes. "Promise me, Derek."   
        "Fine I promise I won't go after those two idiots."   
        I sigh and cross my arms. I pace as I thought of how to explain to Derek why he was the most wanted fugitive in the state.   
        "You see...when we were stuck in the high school, tensions rose. Allison, Lydia, and Jackson all wanted answers and they were turning to Scott for answers. At some point, Scott couldn't take it any longer and just blamed you for the whole thing. He thought that the attack you endured from the Alpha left you dead so he saw no harm in blaming you for murder. Stiles backed him up believing this too." I tell him. Derek hands turns into a fist and I knew it was hard for him to control his anger. I kneel down in front of him and place my hand on top of his fist. "Listen Derek, I was going to clear up your name but it's my word against theirs. You've got to believe me that Scott and Stiles meant no harm. They were being their usual idiot selves."   
        Derek just scoffs and looks away from me.   
        "I'm going to kill them." he states.   
        "You promised me you wouldn't" I state. Derek just rolls his eyes. "I swear Derek if you touch a single strand in either of their heads I won't hesitate to snap your wrist in half."   
        "Don't worry I won't go after your precious boys." Derek growls out. "It's not like I can anyways. These wounds are taking to long to heal."   
        I look down to the wrapped gauze and see the small dots of red.   
        "You moved too much..." I state as I touch the stains of blood. "You opened up your wounds again."   
        "I don't care." Derek states.   
        "Well you should," I tell him as I help him stand up. "The Alpha went through some important organs when he..."  
        I trail off not wanting to remember that attack.   
        "I should replace your bandages." I state. "I don't want your wounds getting infected."   
        I slowly lead him into the living room and was about to put him on the couch when he stops.   
        "If I'm going to be in bed rest for the next few days I'll like it to be in the comfort of an actual bed." Derek tells me. His face close to mine. I look away and fight back the blush as to what he suggested.   
        "I've got the perfect bed for you." I whisper as I lead him down the hallway now. We reach the end and instead of turning left to my bedroom, I turn right to the guest bedroom. "Like I said, the guest bedroom should be much more comfortable than the couch."   
        Derek just mumbles something incoherent as he lays down. I could only laugh knowing why he was upset.   
        "If you thought that your bloody ass was going to get in my bed you're wrong." I state as I undo the bandages from his torso. "It's going to take a lot more than some puppy eyes and a hidden innuendo to get in there."   
        Derek just laughs as I clean the blood off. I quickly add the disinfectant and start to wrap him up. I pull him up into a sitting position so I could fully wrap it on him but before I could let go, Derek pulls me onto his lap. He grunts due to the wounds on his abdomen but manages to fight off the pain as he holds me still. I drop the bandages beside me as I hold on to him for dear life, afraid he'll let go. We stare into each other's eyes and we both get lost in them.   
        "I wouldn't start something you can't finish..." I whisper trying to break my gaze away from him.   
        "Who says I'm not gonna finish?" he asks back.   
        I knew I was leading him on. That these games of sudden closeness and random disappearances would cause us to want each other more. I knew that even when we ignored each other that we were attracted to each other in different levels. Physically, situationally, emotionally. We were a lot alike and I couldn't understand how.   
        "Derek, we really shouldn't..." I say trying to get a grip on my emotions.   
        "Right," he just states distantly. "You like your space and I keep on taking it."   
        I just shake my head at him as I pull myself away from him.   
        "I have enough space and yes you keep on taking it but I'm glad you are." I state unrolling the bandages. Derek looks up at me confused and I sigh. "If you weren't here, I would lose my mind with the silence and the stress of this situation. I know you want more of this relationship. That you want to be closer but I've lost so many people already and I can't let anyone in. So thanks for trying to break through to me but I can't let anyone in, not right now..."    
        I tape up the end of the gauze and finally look up into his eyes. For once, he seem to understand why I didn't want to make more of this. Why I kept my distance and never let anyone fully in. I even held Scott and Stiles at an arm distance because I knew I couldn't get attached.   
        "If you ever need anyone..." Derek starts to say as I clean up the small mess I made. "Don't hesitate to talk to me."   
        I just nod, not knowing what else to say. I knew Derek meant it for the best, but I could never rely on him. Not with the dark secrets that haunted me.   
        


	17. Lunatic

        I duck under Derek's moving fist and roll to the other side of the mat. Derek was fast enough to turn around for my attack. I punched him left and right but he blocked it. Derek tries to punch me on his own but I blocked it. We were both very well trained in hand to hand combat and have been sparring like this for the past half hour. Neither of us was ready to give in but I could sense that Derek was getting tired and was making his moves more obvious. He went for a right swing to my side but I caught it. I twisted his arm and then turned it. I kicked the back of Derek's legs and he fell completely over.   
        I smile as he rolls over onto his back. I put a leg on top of his stomach and smile victoriously at him. Derek quickly grabs my ankle and pulls me down. He pins me only for a split second before I muster all of my strength and push him onto his back. I steady my grip and forces his arms over his head and tighten my grip on his legs. Derek couldn't move me now.  
        "Still can't beat me, Hale." I tell him. "I'll always come out on top."  
        "I'll take you up on that." he grins out. Derek's breathing is heavy as I look down at him. I try to fight the smile off my face but in the end it comes out.   
        "Very funny, Derek." I tell him. I get off of him and help him up. I walk over to my water bottle and open it. I was about to get a sip when a scent catches my attention.  _Blood._  
        I turn around to find Derek wiping off some blood off his mouth. I don't remember ever getting an opening to hit him on his face and I walk over to him worriedly.   
        "Are you ok?" I ask him as I check him. Derek coughs up more blood and I quickly force him to sit down. I grab the towel from the table and wipe away the red blood around his lips. I hand Derek the water and force him to drink. I raise his shirt inspecting the already healed wounds.   
        "I have a feeling you like to see me shirtless." Derek jokes.   
        "Derek, this isn't funny." I tell him. "You're wounds from the outside are healed. Which means..."   
        "Which means I'm ok." Derek interrupts me.   
        "No, it's actually the opposite." I put down his shirt and look up at him. "You haven't healed from the inside. Internal bleeding. It was a bad idea to let you train today. You should go back to bed and rest. Especially since there's a full moon tonight."   
        I walk out of my basement and head upstairs. Derek follows after me as I walk into the kitchen. I grab another water bottle from the fridge and start making the coffee. I turn on the radio out of instinct and listen to the news.   
         _"Beautiful Monday morning, Beacon Hills High School is back open after being closed Thursday and Friday. Police search continues for alleged killer Derek Hale..."_  
        Derek turns it off and leans on the counter as I prepare breakfast. I look up at him and motion for him to sit down. He reluctantly does so. I quickly makes eggs and bacon and serve it on a plate. I turn to find Derek not on the table anymore. I put the plates on the table and become startled as I find Derek behind me with two cups of coffee.  
        "Don't you understand the meaning of resting?" I ask him as I grab a mug and set it down on the table.   
        "Don't you understand the meaning of hospitality?" he asks back as he sits down beside me.   
        "No not really," I tell him. "It's not like I made you breakfast or anything."   
        Derek just rolls his eyes and starts to eat. I finish my food pretty quickly and pour my coffee on a to-go cup. Derek looks up at me confused.   
        "Where are you off to?" he asks me.   
        "School's back in session which means my job is too." I tell him. "Besides I haven't talked to Scott or Stiles ever since the Alpha attack and I'm worried."   
        Derek just sighs and drops of his plates on the sink. He takes something out of his pocket and shows them to me. The clinking of his keys waving around of my face. I give him a glare before grabbing them.   
        "What's this for?" I ask him.   
        "My car is still in the school parking lot. I need you to get it for me."   
        "I can't drive two cars at the same time."   
        "Easy answer, you just have to drive one, mine." Derek tells me.   
        "And how am I supposed to get to school?" I ask him. "Am I going to have to walk?"   
        "I would suggest running. You'll get there faster." he tells me. I would've punched him on his shoulder but he was already injured and I wasn't up to adding more injuries to the list.   
        "Fine but cops will ask me why I'm doing this and I'm going to have to come up with an answer you might not like." I tell him. "And I'll get to school all sweaty so I'm going to have to get ready there."   
        I grab my to-go cup and take an already prepared duffel bag. I wave Derek goodbye before making my trek to school. He owed me big time for this. 

************

        I run up to school just in time for the morning rush. I see Allison get dropped off and see Chris and Kate Argent through the car window. I freeze as Kate glances over at me. We stare at each other for just a second before I turned away. I let out a heavy breath before pushing my way inside the school and into the girl's locker room. I take a quick shower and [change just in time](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=179711000) for the tardy bell. I was just putting my white coat on and making my way to the office when I see Scott rush past me. Seconds after Stiles comes running out holding Scott's backpack.   
        "What's going on?" I ask as I turn around and follow after Stiles.   
        "I don't know. We were just taking a test and Scott just ran out." Stiles tells me. We enter the boys bathroom and I hear the showers running. I push Stiles ahead to check in on Scott while I remain by the lockers. I didn't want to be seeing things I shouldn't be seeing.   
        "Scott? Scott?" Stiles asks him.   
        "Scott is everything alright?" I ask from afar.   
        "Diana, I can't..." he says as I hear him wheezing.    
        "Is he decent?" I ask Stiles. He nods quickly and I make my way to the showers. I find Scott blasting cold water and breathing heavily.   
        "What's happening? Is he changing? " Stiles asks me. He doesn't even give me a chance to respond before he faces Scott again.  "Are you changing?"    
        "No. No, I can't breathe." Scott answers.   
        I search my coat's pocket and realize that I didn't have anything in them. I turn to Stiles who's searching Scott's backpack and pulls out his inhaler.   
        "Here, use this." Stiles says handing him the inhaler. Scott takes it hesitantly. "Come on, do it."   
        Scott pumps the inhaler twice and he seems to go back to normal.   
        "I was having an asthma attack?" Scott asks.   
        "No, you were having a panic attack." Stiles answers. "But thinking you were having an asthma attack actually stopped the panic attack. Irony."   
        "That's right," I state impressed. "Good work, Stiles."   
        "How did you know that?" Scott asks him.   
        "I used to get them after my mom died." Stiles answers.   
        "Me too." I whispered. Stiles looks at me surprised but I shake off their stares. "They're not fun, huh?"  
        "I looked at her, and it was like someone hit me in the ribs with a hammer." Scott replies.   
        "Yeah, it's called heartbreak. About 2 billion songs written about it." Stiles answers back.   
        I remain silent as I realized that Scott and Allison broke up. Maybe it was for the better but seeing Scott now, it could also be for the worse. He just lost his anchor and tonight was the full moon.   
        "I can't stop thinking about her." Scott tells us.   
        "Well you could think about this: Her dad's a werewolf hunter, you're a werewolf, so it was bound to become an issue." I tell him. Scott just seemed to feel even worse at my statement. "Sorry that wasn't helpful."   
        "Dude, what we mean is, yeah, you got dumped, and it's supposed to suck." Stiles tells him.   
        "No, that's not it." Scott replies. "It was like I could feel everything in the room, everyone else's emotions."   
        "It's got to be the full moon." Stiles states.   
        "And the loss of control." I tell them. "You lost your anchor, Scott. It's going to be hard especially for tonight."   
        "Ok, so we'll lock you up in your room later just like we planned. That way the Alpha can't get to you, either." Stiles tells Scott.   
        "I think we need to do a lot more than lock me in my room." Scott tells him.   
        "What, you mean because if you get out, you'd be caught by hunters?" Stiles asks.   
        I look at Scott glancing him in his already weakened state. With the full moon tonight I knew it was only going to get worse tonight especially under the Alpha's control. I clear my throat grabbing both of their attention.  
        "No, because if Scott gets out... I think he might kill someone." I tell them. I turn the shower off and shake the water off my hand. "Stiles, remember that gun I gave you. I would use it if it get's out of hand tonight. Shoot either his leg or his arm. Immobilize him. Then call me for back-up because you're going to need it."   
        I avoid looking at their shocked faces and make my way out of the locker room. 

**************

        The day went by pretty slowly until I was ready to leave. I was just on my way to the field when Isaac intercepts me from going to Coach's speech.   
        "Hey, Isaac." I say as I meet him outside the boy's locker room. "Is everything, ok?"   
        I look at him after two weeks of not seeing him. I realize his nervous tick was back. His appearance seemed rushed and I could smell the fear very clearly through the air. I knew Mr. Lahey wouldn't dare raise a hand at him after my discussion with him. I couldn't of think of any other reason as to Isaac was scared and I was very worried for the kid.   
        "Isaac, what's happened? What's wrong?" I ask him.   
        "My dad," Isaac answers. "He's found...he's found another way to..."   
        "Spit it out." I tell him impatiently. "What is he doing to you?"   
        "I can't...I-I-I can't..." he stutters.   
        "Isaac the least you can tell me is what he's doing so I can know what to do." I tell him.   
        Isaac takes a deep breath and looks at me more calmly.   
        "I want you to make a case against him. I want you to take me out of there, like you promised."   
        "I can do that." I tell him. "I can do that but I'll need your help and I need you to stay strong because this is going to take a while to prepare."   
        "Whatever it takes, I just need to get out of there. I can't take it anymore."   
        I nod and walk into the boy's locker room with him. I knew we were late for the meeting especially after I told Coach Finstock that most of his guys had gotten pink eye. Most of his first-line would have to be replaced. I find all the guys dressed for practice and lean on the farthest wall.  
        "All right, geniuses, listen up. Due to the recent pinkeye epidemic- Thank you, Greenberg- the following people have made first line on a probationary basis, emphasis on the word  _probationary._ Rodriguez. Welcome to first-line. Taylor, and uh-Oh for the love of crap. I can't even read my own writing. What is that, an "s"?" Coach asks himself as he looks at the sheet of paper. I look over at Stiles who seems to get excited by the slight chance of getting to play but Coach shoots that idea down. "No, no, that's not an "s". That's a... that's a... That's a "b". It's definitely a "b." Uh, Rodriguez, Taylor, and uh Bilinski."   
        Stiles shoots off from his seat and yells out of excitement. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiastic cheers. Coach seemed to get annoyed which was also a plus.   
        "Bilinski!" Coach shouts at him. Stiles stops and turns to him.   
        "Yes?" he asks.   
        "Shut up!" Coach yells at him.   
        "Yes, sir." Stiles answers as he sits back down with a goofy smile on his face.   
        "Another thing," Coach continues. "From here on out, immediately, we're switching to co-captains. Congratulations, McCall."   
        Jackson quickly becomes angry at this.   
        "What?" he asks.  
        "What do you mean,  _what_?" Coach replies. "Jackson, this takes nothing away from you. This is about combining separate strengths into one unit. This is about taking your unit, McCall's unit, and making one big uit. McCall it's you and Jackson now. Everyone else- Asses on the field! Asses on the field!"   
        Everyone starts to make their way out of the locker room. I walk up to Stiles and Scott wanting to congratulate them on their new positions.   
        "Stiles, congrats on being first line."   
        "It's Biles, now. Call me Biles, please." he answers. "And thanks."   
        "And Scotty congrats on the Captain status. You deserve it." I tell him. Scott didn't seem that excited but I didn't push it knowing he was still upset about Allison. I head out of the locker room and into the field. I sit down on the bench and watch the practice start. They were running a defense-offense drill. From the look of how Scott was doing he seemed to be having a bad day.   
        "Let's go!" Coach yells at Scott as he picks up the ball. He runs towards goal just to be struck down by the first line of defense. Coach laughs at him as he makes his way towards Scott. "Guess some people don't appreciate you new status here, McCall."   
        I knew trouble was coming up. Especially after Coach just taunted him. Scott gets up and before the next person could run the drill Scott runs through it again.   
        "That's it, McCall!" Coach shouts. "That's the spirit! You earn it! Earn it, McCall!"   
        I watch with anticipation and I can sense him at the verge of wolfing out. He pushes down two hitters and hits the goalie on the face, causing him to go down too. I sprint to the field as Danny didn't get up. I see Scott breathing heavily at the sidelines.   
        "Danny, are you okay?" I ask him. "Can you focus on me right now? Who am I, Danny?"   
        Danny seems to have a hard time focusing. I grab the towel out of my bag and place it on his bleeding nose. I make him follow my finger wanting to see if he was concussed. The signs seem to be there as he lost track of it easily. I make two of the players carry him to the bench so I could call the ambulance. I turn back to Scott and find him just stalking out of the field, guiltless. 

*************

        I finally make my way home after checking in on Danny. Doctors said it was a possibility he had a concussion but they needed to run some more tests to make sure. I see Derek on the couch reading through some magazine. I throw him his keys and he catches them easily. He looked better now. I could only hope that he finally healed completely.   
        "Got your car. You're welcome." I tell him.  
        "Thanks," he mutters before going back to the magazine.  
         I sit down beside him and grab the folder out of my bag. I look over Isaac's medical file. Every injury he had was under some accident. The past nurse never bothered to check up on him to see if these injuries were true. I sighed as I noticed that this case was going to be hard to win. It was Isaac's word against his father's. I was just a standby witness who had false documents backing her up. I crack my neck due to stress and before I knew it I felt warm hands working out the knots on my shoulders. I let out a contempt sigh as I close my eyes.   
        "Thanks Der," I mumble. I close up the file and throw it on the coffee table. I open my eyes and look up at him. "You look better than before. I guess I was right about bedrest."   
        Derek just rolls his eyes.   
        "You're stressed." he says changing the subject. "What's going on?"   
        "Scott and Allison broke up, full moon is at it's highest point in 2o minutes, and I just witnessed Scott almost losing it again on the field. He hurt this really sweet kid on his team."   
        I grab his hand and make him stop the massage. I didn't want him to stop but I knew he had to. I guess spending time with each other this weekend made us more trusting with one another but I couldn't indulge on it too much.   
        "I also have this kid who needs my help." I tell him. "It's not a supernatural problem. It's a human problem and oddly enough it's much more stressful than I thought it would be."   
        "What are you helping him with?" Derek asks me.   
        "Abusive father." I answer. "I've been taking care of his injuries this whole month. I threatened his father and he stopped. I hadn't seen the kid for two weeks now but he came up to me today. It seems he's back to hitting Isaac and so he's asked me to make a case. He wants me to get him out of there."   
        Derek just nods as I tell him.   
        "Why don't you go to the police?" Derek asks me.  
        "Because I don't have any evidence." I tell him. "Mr.Lahey doesn't have any kind of police record on him. He has a job. He's not alcoholic. No misconduct whatsoever. It's Isaac's words against his. I need more proof of his violent behavior."   
        "He'll eventually slip up." Derek tells me. "And once he does you'll catch him."   
        "Yeah," I sigh out. "I just don't know how long it will take. I've called Sheriff to start a complaint. I just need to wait it out now."   
        Derek nods at that and returns to his seat beside me.   
        "Did you run to any problems with bringing my car?" Derek asks me.   
        "A little one," I answer. "Some cop that was supervising it made me sign some papers. He asked me how I got the keys and that was a hard answer to come up with."   
        "What did you say?"   
        "I just told him that you mysteriously dropped them in a letter into my mailbox. No address or anything. I, of course, acted like the innocent neighbor that I am and told him that I've seen you around. You were all broody and quiet. I've only said hi to you once or twice. I never expected that me, some random stranger, could be trusted so much with an expensive car."   
        "You sure know how to make up an act quick." Derek states.   
        "I also might have hinted that we might have had a one night stand." I tell him. "That surely made him stop asking further questions."   
        Derek tries to hide his smile at that but I saw it clearly. He was about to say something in response but my phone rings. I find Stiles calling me and I quickly knew that something was wrong.  
        "Stiles, what happened?" I ask him.   
        " _Scott escaped."_ Stiles answers. " _He ran into the woods and I have no clue where he is."_  
        "I gave you a gun, Stiles. Why didn't you use it?" I ask him.   
        " _Scott was gone before I could use it."  
_         I let out a sigh and quickly get up. I don't even offer Derek an explanation since I'm pretty sure he's eavesdropping on the conversation. He grabs his jacket as I talk to Stiles.   
        "I'm on my way to find him." I tell Stiles. "And you should stay inside. Just in case he decides to..."   
         _"Kill me?"_  Stiles asks.   
        "Goodbye, Stiles." I say before hanging up. Derek heads out in one direction while I run to another one. I knew Scott had to be around here somewhere. I also knew that the full moon might make me hard to focus on tracking him since I also had to focus on not shifting. This was going to be a rough Monday night. 

***************

        I keep on running through the woods. I listen to the crunching of leaves and catch the smell of sweat and anger. I quickly follow after it knowing that it could only belong to one person. I quickly hear the howling and finally pinpoint Scott's location. I sprint towards the edge of the forest into a parking lot. I see Jackson and Allison talking inside a car with Scott on top of it. He was about to rip through the roof of the car but I jumped over to him and push him into off.   
        We roll for a while before I push Scott off of me. I quickly stand up and so does he. Scott was wolfed out and I knew it was going to be a little hard for me to fight him with no weapons at hand. I didn't want to shift because it would give Scott a chance to kill me and my between state would only make me weaker. Fighting as a human was my only chance.  I stand up straighter and wait for his attack.   
        He runs over to me and I quickly dodge it. He tries to jump me and I duck under it. I was about to throw a kick of my own but Scott was faster than me. He managed to catch my leg and throw me onto the ground. I gasp at the loss of air and the pain that erupted on my back. It was getting hard for me to keep control of the wolf inside me.   
        Scott quickly pins me down and lets out a growl. He raises his clawed hand ready to strike me if it wasn't for someone tackling Scott off of me. I turn around to find Derek fighting him. He grabs Scott and throws him onto the ground. He then howls at his face. Scott crawls away in fear. Derek shifts back to normal.   
        Derek helps me up and I quickly thank him. I turn to Scott who looks between us and to his clawed hand. He seems to snap out of the Alpha's murderous influence.   
        "What's happening to me?" Scott asks us.   
        "Exactly what he wants to happen." Derek answers. "Kill the hunters and kill the Alpha."   
        "Aka, me." I state. "The Alpha wanted you to kill me." 

**************

        Derek and I take Scott back home. We enter his house and carry Scott to his bed. The full moon was gone by now. It's effect no longer impeding our judgment. No word was said in the car ride and things still remained silent as Derek and I were leaving the room. That is until Scott spoke up.   
        "Wait." Scott shouts out. "I can't do this anymore. I can't be this and be with Alison. I need you to tell me the truth. Is there a cure?"   
        I look over at Derek not knowing the answer.   
        "For someone who was bitten? I've heard of one. I don't know if it's true." Derek tells him.   
        "Well, what is it?" I ask him curious myself.   
        "You have to kill the one that bit you." Derek answers.   
        "Kill the Alpha?" Scott asks.   
        "Derek that's not tru..." I begin to say but Derek interrupts me.   
        "Scott. If you help me find him. I'll help you kill him."   
        I shake my head and walk out. I knew that Derek was feeding him lies. I knew that killing the Alpha that bit you did nothing. In fact, it made you the Alpha. This was just some plot to make Scott be on our side completely. I make my way to the car and wait for Derek there. He quickly comes out and starts to drive our way home.   
        "Why did you tell him that?' I ask him. "Killing your Alpha doesn't do anything."   
        "I had to say something, ok?" Derek replies. "Scott was still on the fence about this. I needed to convince him to our cause fully."   
        "Derek, he's going to hate you once he finds out." I tell him. "Besides, if we're killing the Alpha it's going to be me. I can't have you or Scott becoming an Alpha. I need to claim this territory Derek. I need to if I want to survive."   
        Derek looks over at me in concern.   
        "You sound like you're in trouble."   
        I don't respond and instead I look out the window.  
        "Diana, what kind of trouble are you in?" he asks me.   
        " _Hunt or be hunted_." I whisper at him. "Hunters. It's always hunters. Except these want me dead more than most. Let's just say they ruined my life as I ruined theirs."   
        "Is this about the Alpha you killed?" Derek asks me.   
        "You mean my Alpha? The one that I killed and didn't get cured from? " I ask him. Derek just rolls his eyes and focuses on the road again. "The Alpha I killed is the sole reason I've been running for the past 3 years. Do I regret it? Sometimes, but that's because I lost something I won't be able to get back."   
        "And what is that?" Derek asks me.   
        "I lost them." I tell him not emphasizing who  _them_ was. I look over the winding road that seems to go on forever. "But I gained freedom from them too and that's all I could have ever asked for." 


	18. Car Chases, Secrets, and Necklaces...

        I'm not sure how we got into this situation but here I was driving Derek's camaro. Scott and Stiles were with me for some reason and they were surprised to see me behind the wheel of the camaro. They were my eyes and ears as I focused on distracting the Argents from catching Derek while he searched for who the Alpha was. He didn't elaborate what he was actually doing but he trusted me enough with his car so it must have been important.  
        "So how come you're driving Derek's car?" Stiles asks me. "Like are you two together? Cause I'm a great driver and I would love to drive this car..."   
        "Why does everyone think we're a couple? We're clearly not." I sigh out. "And I'm trusted to drive his car because I've driven it before. So in other words, he'll never let you drive it."   
        Stiles just sighs as he sits back on the seat. Kate catching sight of the car starts to follow us and at a quick speed. Stiles and Scott take notice of this and start to tell me directions so I could lose her. I could hear Stiles breathing in the back of my neck heavily. I had to push that annoying feeling away as I stepped on the gas pedal. I look at the rearview mirror and find Kate easily catching up to me. I look back onto the winding road.   
        "Faster?" I ask.   
        "Much faster," Scott replies as he looks back. I ignore it as I take caution of the wet road and all the sharp turns.  
        "Diana, I don't think you're grasping the concept of the car chase here." Stiles exclaims.  
        "If I go faster, I'll kill us."   
        "Well, if you don't go faster, they're gonna kill us!" Stiles exclaims. I step on the gas and try my best not to get into a car crash. I shift gears lurching the car forward. No one says anything and after a while Scott finally speaks up.   
        "They're gone."   
        _"All units, suspect is on foot heading into the Iron Works."_  
        "Fuck," I angrily whisper as I hear that. "Get ready for a detour guys."   
        I make a very abrupt U-turn which causes Stiles to squeal and Scott to clutch at his seat. I step on the gas pedal making Derek's camaro go as fast as it can be and headed to the Iron Works. I see a clear entrance that wasn't blocked by police patrol cars. I quickly turn in and Scott moves to the backseat. I open the door and look up at Derek who was hiding from the Argents attack.   
        "Get in!" I shout. Derek quickly jumps in and I peel out of there quickly. Once we were on the clear I turn to Derek. "What part of laying low don't you understand?"   
        "Damn it, I had him!" Derek shouts.   
        "Who, the Alpha?" Stiles asks cluelessly.   
        "Yes! He was right in front of me, and the friggin' police showed up."   
        "Whoa, hey, they're just doing their jobs..." Stiles starts to say before Derek glares at him.   
        "Yeah, thanks to someone who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire state."   
        "I had nothing to do with that, as I recall." I state. "Blame it on those two."   
        "Can we seriously get past that?" Scott asks us. "I made a dumbass mistake. I get it."  
        "All right. How did you find him?" Stiles asks Derek.   
        Derek remains silent. I side glance at him wanting to know the answer too.  
        "Can you try to trust us for at least half a second?" Scott asks him.   
        "Yeah, both of us." Stiles states. Derek gives him another glare. "Or just them. I'll be back here."  
        "Come on, Der. Tell us what you found out." I state trying to bring him back to the main subject.   
        "Look the last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. The first was a guy named Harris."   
        "Our chemistry teacher?" Stiles asks him.   
        "Wait. You mean that teacher that keeps on hitting on me?" I ask. All of them turn to me and I quickly shut my mouth. "Forget I said that. Why him?"   
        "I don't know yet." Derek states.   
        "What's the second?" Scott asks him.   
        "Some kind of symbol." Derek answers as he shows us a picture. Scott sighs as he see's it. "What? You know what this is?"   
        "I've seen it on a necklace." Scott says. "Allison's necklace."

**************

        After Derek and I dropped off Scott and Stiles we made it back home. I was too tired to go into a conversation and peel of my jacket once we get inside. I throw it onto the coffee table and kick off my shoes. I start to make my way to my room but Derek being ahead of me blocks me from going in.   
        "What are you doing?" I ask him. "I had a teenage boy breathing down my neck for the past hour. I need my sleep."   
        "We need to talk."   
        "We always need to talk." I exclaim. "What's this about this time?"   
        "It's about Harris hitting on you." Derek states.   
        I roll my eyes as I hear this and let out a sigh.   
        "Are you serious?" I ask him. "You're delaying my well-deserved break because some guy is hitting on me?"   
        "It's not some guy." Derek answers. "It's a guy that has something to do with the Alpha. So tell me about him."   
        "I don't know. He's the chem teacher. He's been hitting on me ever since I started to work at the school. He seems to be a loser and from what I hear from the students he can be quite an asshole. I don't really talk to the guy. I mostly ignore him."   
        Derek keeps staring at me.   
        "What?" I ask him. "Why are you staring at me like that?"   
        "Nothing..." Derek whispers as he looks away. "If you find something else about him... tell me."   
        I nod and motion for him to move out of the door. He steps away and opens the door for me. I smile and say a quiet thanks as I take a step forward but Derek quickly gets in my way. I collide into his chest and look up at him. His eyes watched me intensely and I felt paralyzed under them. I take a deep breath and look away from him. I push him aside and enter my room. 

**************

        I skipped my morning training session with Derek in order to avoid questions of [my dating life](http://www.polyvore.com/car_chases_secrets_necklaces/set?id=180477890) and more stare downs. I get there just as everyone comes in and manage to find Scott and Stiles before class started.   
        "So..." I whisper as I come up behind them. They jump up in surprise but I still continue. "What's your plan on getting the necklace?  
        "This is gonna be impossible, you know." Scott sighs out.   
        "Why don't you just ask her if you can borrow it?" Stiles asks him.   
        "How?" Scott asks him.   
        "It's easy. You just say 'Hey Allison, can I borrow your necklace to see if there's anything on it or in it that can lead me to an Alpha werewolf that I need to kill in order to get back together with you?" Stiles replies.   
        "You're not helping." Scott exclaims.   
        "Ok, here's an obvious solution. Why don't you just talk to her?" I ask him.   
        "She won't talk to me." Scott answers. "What if she, like, only takes it off in the shower or something?"   
        "That's why you ease back into it, okay? Get back on the good side, remind her of the good times. And then ask for the necklace." We both turn to Scott just to find him with a goofy look on his face. I turn to Stiles and we both thought the same thing.   
        "You're thinking about her in the shower, aren't you?" Stiles ask him.  
        "Yeah," Scott mumbles.   
        "Ok, that's my cue to leave." I state as I shake my head. "Scott, just stay focused, okay and get the necklace. Got it?"  
        Scott nods and I make my way to the office. I look up to find Jackson staring at us suspiciously but I push it out of my mind. There were more important things to think about. 

************

         _We have a problem._  
          
        Those four simple words seem to follow me around in this town. Especially when it came from the mouth of two teenage boys that tend to run into my office at any time of the day.   
        "We have a  _huge_ problem." Stiles repeats.   
        "I heard that. I'm just trying to think of the many things that could go wrong in this exact moment."   
        "Well think of those things and magnified by a billion. Jackson knows." Scott tells me.   
        "Knows what?" I ask him.   
        "That I'm a werewolf." Scott replies. "He knows."   
        "How in the hell did he find out?" I ask. I rack my brains for an answer and turn to Scott. "You didn't have a mental breakdown in front of him again, right?"   
        "No! No, of course not." Scott exclaims.   
        "Then how did he find out?"   
        "I have no idea." Scott answers.   
        "Did he say it out loud-the word?" I ask him.   
        "What word?" Scott asks.   
        "Werewolf." Stiles tells him.   
        "Did he or did he not say 'I know you're a werewolf?" I ask him.   
        "No, but he implied it pretty freaking clearly." Scott answers.   
        "But everything's alright, right?" Stiles asks me. "I mean, he doesn't have any proof, right? And if he wanted to tell someone, who's gonna believe him anyway?"  
        "How about the Argents, huh?" I reply. Both of their faces fall.  
        "Does he know about Allison's father?" Stiles asks Scott.   
        "I don't know." Scott answers.   
        "Okay, where's Derek?" Stiles asks.   
        "Hiding, like I told him too." I respond. "Why?"   
        "I have another idea. It's gonna take a little time and finesse, though." Stiles replies. He then turns to me. "I'm going to need you to bring Derek over to my house today."   
        "I don't keep him on some leash. I can't just drag him around everywhere." I state. Stiles just gives me a look.   
        "From all of us, you're the one who can make him listen." Stiles tells me. I just sigh.   
        "Fine, I'll make him come."   
        "We have that game tonight, It's quarterfinals. You both have to be there." Scott states before turning to Stiles. "And it's your first game."   
        "I know, I know. Look, do you have a plan for Allison yet?" Stiles asks him.  
        "She's in my next class."   
        "Perfect. Get the necklace." I say shooing them from my office. "Ask for it, steal it... who cares. Just get it." 

*************

        After managing to get grumpy Derek into the car with me, we drove to Stiles' house. As usual, we snuck in through the window and waited for Stiles to get home.   
        "Why are we here again?" Derek asks for the infinite time. I stop pacing as I turn to him.   
        "Stiles asked me to bring you here. He has a plan."   
        "Since when did you let teenagers make up the plans?" he asks me.   
        "Since we're running out of time. I want this Alpha dead and as soon as possible." I tell him. "Besides, Stiles is a smart kid. I'm sure he's got something at least...decent planned."   
        Derek just rolls his eyes. I continue to pace around the room waiting for Stiles to make an appearance as Derek consistently sighed of boredom. Suddenly, we snap towards the door as we heard Stiles come in and make his way upstairs. Derek stands up and waits for him by the door.   
        "Hey, Stiles!" the Sheriff exclaims once Stiles comes in.   
        "Yo, D...Derek." Stiles mumbles. "I, um..."   
        "What'd you say?" the Sheriff asks as he comes closer. I quickly push Stiles out of his room and press Derek against the wall to make him invisible to the Sheriff's sight. It was easy to catch the sly grin on Derek's face and I quickly roll my eyes at him.   
        "What? I said 'Yo d...dad" Stiles responds.   
        "Listen, I've got something I've got to take care of, but I'm gonna be there tonight. I mean, your first game."   
        "My first game." Stiles repeats. "It's great. Awesome. Uh...good."   
        "I'm very happy for you." Sheriff responds. "And I'm really proud of you."   
        "Thanks. Me too. I'm happy and proud- of myself." Stiles blabbers on.   
        Derek and I look at each other as if we shared the same thought _. This kid could really be an idiot._  
        "So they're really gonna let you play, right?" the Sheriff asks him.   
        "Yeah, dad. I'm first line. Believe that?"   
        "I'm very proud." Sheriff repeats.   
        "Oh, me too." Stiles replies. They say their goodbye's and once I hear the Sheriff leave, I let go of Derek.   
        "I'm sor..." Stiles starts to say before Derek grabs Stiles and pins him on the closed door.   
        "If you say one word..." Derek growls out.   
        "Oh, what, you mean, like, ' _Hey dad, Derek Hale is in my room. Bring your gun?"_ Stiles sarcastically says. Derek slowly lets him go and fixes Stiles' jacket. "Yeah, that's right. If I'm harboring your fugitive ass, it's my house, my rules, buddy."   
        Stiles then proceeds to fix Derek's leather jacket. Instead, Derek growls at him and Stiles steps away in fear.   
        "Did Scott get the necklace?" I ask as I bring up the matter at hand.   
        "No, he's still working on it. But there's something else we can try." Stiles tells us as he sits on his desk and turns on his computer. "The night we were trapped at the school, Scott sent a text to Allison asking her to meet him there."   
        "So?" Derek asks. I smile as I figured out what Stiles had come up with.   
        "So it wasn't Scott." I state. "Well, can you find out who sent it?"   
        "No, not me. But I think I know somebody who can." Stiles replies. 

*************

        Danny enters the house ten minutes later since Stiles called him over. With no warning I quickly jump into the bed and wrap the blanket around him. Derek gives me a look from his seat on the chair.   
        "He's going to recognize me and how am I supposed to explain that their nurse is in some teenage boy's bedroom. I suggest you do the same."   
        Derek just rolls his eyes and picks up a big book and begins to read it. His attempt of a disguise was much worse than mine. I just stare at him from my discreet angle as Danny walks in.   
        "You want me to do what?" Danny asks him as he enters the room.   
        "Trace a text." Stile repeats.   
        "I came here to do lab work. That's what lab partners do." Danny replies.   
        "And we will, once you trace the text."   
        "And what makes you think I know how?" Danny asks Stiles.  
        I pull the blanket a little lower so I could see everything better. I find Danny and Stiles standing defensively in front of each other as they forced the other to either do homework or trace the text.  
        "I...I looked up your arrest report so..." Stiles mumbles.   
        "I was 13. They dropped the charges." Danny replies. I was surprised to hear this from sweet Danny but I guess the innocent ones are always the one with the darkest secrets.   
        "Whatever." Stiles mumbles.   
        "No, we're doing lab work." Danny states before setting his backpack down. "Who are they again?"   
        "Um, my cousin...Miguel." Stiles rambles.   
        "And the girl in the bed?" Danny asks.  
        "Uh, she's uh...she's Maya, Miguel's girlfriend."   
        I hold back another sigh since this was like the third time this topic has come up. I find Derek looking at me with a smirk before he returns to his book. I just glare at him and snuggle closer in the blanket.   
        "Is that blood on his shirt?" Danny asks pointing at Derek.   
        "Yeah. Yes. Well, he gets these terrible nosebleeds." Stiles mutters. "Hey, Miguel. I thought I told you, you could borrow one of my shirts."   
        I had to stiffle my laugh as Derek grumpily slams the book closed and walks over to Stiles' drawers. I saw him shift through the drawers and pick some shirts up. He then proceeds to take of his shirt. I knew that he knew that I was staring at him but I couldn't look away.   
        "So anyway, I mean, we both know you have the skills to trace the text, so we should probably..." Stiles states.   
        Every shirt that Derek tried on was too tight or small. I wanted to laugh but that would give away who I am.   
        "Uh, Stiles?" Derek asks as he turns to him.   
        "Yes?"   
        "This... no fit." Derek exclaims as he stretches a shirt.   
        "Then try something else on." Stiles states before turning back to Danny. We both realize that Danny was also hypnotized by Derek's body and by the look on Stiles' face, I knew what he was planning. Derek puts on this very ugly orange and blue striped shirt. "Hey, that one looks pretty good, hug? What do you think, Danny? The shirt."   
        Danny seems to have a hard time coming up with a response.   
        "It's... it's not really his color." Danny mumbles.   
        Derek just growls as he continues to search for another shirt. I look at Stiles and find him whispering to Danny.   
        "You swing for a different team, but you still play ball, don't you Danny boy?"   
        "You're a horrible person." Danny tells him.   
        "I know. It keeps me awake at night. Anyway about the text..." Stiles starts to say before Derek interrupts him.   
        "Stiles!" Derek shouts as he turns around without a shirt on. "None of these fit."   
        "I'll need the ISP, the phone number, and the exact time of the text." Danny states taking one more look at Derek before facing the computer. I smile at that and get up from the bed seeing that Danny was occupied.   
        "Yo tengo una playera extra en mi carro. Ahorita te lo traigo." I say in Spanish as I make my way out of the room. I could hear Stiles mumble how I knew how to speak in Spanish but I didn't respond. I run down to my car and pick up the extra t-shirt I had in my car. I run up the stairs to find Danny still occupied on the computer. I hand Derek the shirt and he changes into it. I head back into bed to hide away from Danny. After a minute Danny looks up from the computer done with his research.  
        "There. The text was sent from a computer." he says as he points to the screen. "This one."   
        Derek and Stiles look into it while I remained watching from afar.   
        "Registered to that account name?" Derek asks.   
        "No, no, no, no. That can't be right." Stiles mumbles.   
        "That's what is says..." Danny says picking up his stuff. "Melissa McCall was the one who sent that text." 

 


	19. Betrayal

      Danny, after serving his purpose, was pushed out of the door by Stiles. I finally stopped my pacing as I faced Stiles and Derek unsure of what to do with the information. I couldn't understand how Scott's mom could send that message. It didn't make sense. Someone else must have done it, but who?  
       That's what we needed to find out so Stiles, Derek, and I took Stiles' jeep to the hospital. We were all silent still processing the information. The sun had finally settled and we remained in the car still trying to get our minds straight. The silence was broken by Stiles’ phone ringing. It was Scott and he had finally managed to get Allison’s necklace.  
        “ _Did you get the picture?_ ” he asks us.  
        “Yeah, we did, and it looks just like the drawing.” Stiles answers him.  
        “Hey, is there something on the back of it?” Derek asks him. “There's gotta be something. An inscription, an opening, something.”  
        “ _No, no, the thing's flat. And, no, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing._ ” Scott tells us.  
        “And this is Allison’s necklace?” I ask Scott as I take a closer look at the picture. “Where did she get it?”          
        “ _She said it was a birthday gift...that’s all I know._ ” Scott tells me. “ _And where are you? You're supposed to be here. Both of you. This is your job, Diana and Stiles, you're first line. Man, you're not gonna play if you're not here to start._ ”  
        “I know. Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him - tell him I'll be there, I'll just be a little bit late, okay? All right, thanks.” Stiles says before hanging up. I turn to him as he sighs down at his phone.  
        “We're not gonna make it.” I tell him.  
        “I know.”  
        “And you didn't tell him about his mom, either.” Derek states.  
        “Not until we find out the truth.” Stiles says determined. Derek nods and looks out the window.  
        “By the way, one more thing.” Derek says before facing him.  
        “Yeah.” Stiles says waiting and before I could stop him, Derek grabs Stiles’ head and slams it on the steering wheel. “Oh, God! What the hell was…”  
        “You know what that was for.” Derek growls out. He doesn’t even let Stiles recover as he points him out the door. “Go. Go!”  
        Stiles holds his head in pain and manages to get out of the car. I could hear him say a string of curses as he made his way inside of the hospital. I remained in the backseat as I watched him go. Derek turns to me.  
        “Are you going to stay there all night or are you going to sit up here?” he asks me motioning to Stiles’ vacant driver seat. I look at the seat and back at him.  
        “Depends. Are you going to smack my head on the wheel too?”  
        Derek just smirks and faces forward again.  
        “Why would I hurt you when all you were doing is checking me out?”  
        “I wasn’t checking you out.” I scoff out as I make my way to Stiles’ seat. I sit down hard which causes me to bounce a bit.  
        “Sure…” Derek says with the smirk still on his face.  
        “I wasn’t!” I state again.  
        “Keep on telling yourself that.” Derek says as his smirk grows bigger. I cross my arms and stare straight ahead.  
        “Ok, what if I was?” I ask him with a shrug of my shoulders as I turned to him. Derek seems amused by my statement and faces me too. “You’ve checked me out before I’ll like to think that I can have the same pleasure.”  
        “So if I kissed you would that mean you would have to kiss me back?” Derek asks mischievously. I quickly try to come up with a response but my mind goes blank.  
        “I mean...I wouldn’t...we shouldn’t....” My eyes stray to his lips and I knew Derek was distracted by mine. I look up to his eyes and they were looking back at mine begging for permission. I sigh and was about to lean in when Derek’s phone goes off. I quickly face forward again and fight the oncoming blush as Derek answers his phone.  
        “You’ve got to be kidding me Stiles.” Derek growls out.  
        “ _I can’t find her._ ” Stiles replies.  
        “What?” Derek asks him.  
        “ _Yeah, I said I can't find her._ ” Stiles repeats.  
        “Look, ask for Jennifer. She's been looking after my uncle.” Derek tells him.  
        “ _Yeah, well, he's not here either._ ”  
        “What?” I ask him as a nervous feeling grows inside of me.  
        “ _He's not here. He's gone._ ”  
        I turn to Derek and then back at the hospital.  
        “Oh my god…” I say scrambling to open the door.  
        “Stiles, get out of there right now - it's him! He's the Alpha! Get out!” Derek yells out. I start to sprint to the hospital doors and Derek follows right after me.  
        “You - and him. You're - you're the one who - Oh, my - and he's - Oh, my God, I'm gonna die.”  
        Following Stiles’ voice I quickly find him in the hallway blocked by a living Peter and his nurse. Derek tackles the nurse and knocks her out cold.   
        “That's not nice. She's my nurse.” Peter mutters.  
        “She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people.” Derek states.  
        “Stiles, get out of the way.” I tell him as I step over the nurse to stand by Derek’s side.  
        “Oh, damn.” Stiles whimpers as he ducks down and starts to crawl away.  
        “You think I killed Laura on purpose? One of my own family?” Peter asks him. I wasn’t able to hold Derek back as he wolfed out and attacked Peter. Peter had expected that and was ready for him. He grabs Derek and easily slams him on both walls before letting Derek to crumble on the floor. I quickly duck down and grab Stiles who was on the floor in shock and drag him out of the way.  
        “My mind, my personality were literally burned out of me. I was being driven by pure instinct.” Peter tells Derek as he drags him across the floor and drops him.  
        “You want forgiveness?” Derek asks him quickly getting up and being able to punch Peter on the face. It doesn’t phase Peter and he quickly blocks Derek’s second punch and headbuts him. Derek takes a couple of steps back and I could see he was dizzy. Peter then takes this chance to kick Derek back down the hallway.  
        “I want understanding. Do you have any idea - What it was like for me during those years? Slowly healing, cell by cell. Even more slowly coming back to consciousness. Yes, becoming an Alpha, taking that from Laura pushed me over a plateau in the healing process. I can't help that. I tried to tell you what was happening. I tried to warn you.”  
        I smell the blood and I forget about Stiles and quickly jump in front of Derek protectively. I look down at him and see him spitting out blood. I turn to Peter who looks at me amused as he steps towards me.  
        “Here she is. The she-wolf.” Peter says with a smirk. “As I recall, our second meeting would end with you dying.”  
        “Well as I remember it, I’m pretty sure we agreed it was going to be you.”  
        I quickly crack my neck as my eyes turn red. He growls at me as his eyes do the same and I quickly lunge at him. Every punch I threw he managed to avoid and it caused him to take some steps back. I kept on attacking him, getting blinded by my anger, that I forgot about pacing myself. Peter manages to snatch my rising leg for a kick and twists it. I cry out at the painful sensation and Peter grabs me by my jacket and throws me against the glass window of the reception desk.  
        I bite my tongue preventing myself from crying out. I look down at my leg recognizing the pain as tears in some of my muscle. I force myself to ignore the throbbing pain and try to quietly crawl away. I knew Peter would be at my heels again so I made my way to a curtained location in hopes that I would heal sooner than later. I push myself through the curtain and find Stiles there shaking. In his hands he tightly held the gun I gave him a week ago. I sigh in relief as I see it.  
        I put a finger on my lips telling him to be quiet and signaling that I was ok. Stiles still shook in fear as I placed my hands on top of his and slowly unclasped the gun out of his hands. I then mouth to him to stay there as I painfully start to crawl out of my hidden spot. I find Peter walking into a dark room down the hallway. I look down on the floor and see the trail of blood leading there.  _He’s after Derek. I need to go protect Derek._  
        I lean on the wall as I push myself up to my feet. I push back a growl as I put pressure on my hurt leg and shuffle down the hall. I turn off the safety on the gun and shakily place it in front of me as I enter the room.  
        Peter was standing tall in front of Derek who was leaning against the wall glaring back at him. I try to be quiet as I sneak inside the room and slowly bring up the gun.  
        “I was going to wait for dramatic flair but… when you look this good. Why wait?” Peter asks as he turns to a nearby mirror and quickly flips it to make it turn. The mirror reflects his burned face before it slows down to reveal his normal healed face. I watch him in horror as he inspects himself.  
        “Now what do you think of me, Diana?” he asks as he turns to me. “Am I dateable material?”  
        “You look more like a shooting target.” I state raising up the gun. Peter looks down at the gun amused and then back at me.  
        “Tsk. Tsk. Diana. You’re not going to shoot me.” Peter states.  
        “Why not?”  
        “Because I’m feeling nice today.” Peter tells me. “It must be my clear skin or something because I’m going to let you and my nephew live.”  
        I scoff at that and raise the gun higher so it’ll point at his head.  
        “I seriously doubt you’ll keep your word.”  
        With no hesitation, I pulled the trigger. Peter quickly dodges it and seeing this I quickly move to shoot lower and faster. Peter wouldn’t be able to avoid either bullet and I manage to catch his right shoulder. He groans in pain and takes a step back. He huffs as he glares at me and reaches into his shoulder to pull the bullet out.  
        “Now, Diana… that wasn’t very nice.”  
        “Well I’m not a nice person.” I growl out. I keep the gun in front of me still waiting for Peter to make the first move towards me. He just smiles at me and drops the bullet beside him.  
        “I’m just trying to make amends.” he tells me. “And yes I was harsh to you at the school but I wasn’t in my right mind. You have to give me a chance to explain.”  
        I shake my head at him.  
        “You lost your chance to an explanation when you killed innocent people.”  
        “Who said there were innocent?” Peter asks me. I hadn’t noticed when he had creeped closer to me but it was too late. Peter kicks my injured leg which causes me to crumble onto the floor. The gun clatters to the floor and I was blinded by my pain to reach for it. From there on he grabs my neck and slams me onto the wall before raising me up to eye level with him. The room was already spinning and with the quick loss of air I knew I wasn’t going to last long.  
        “Stop it.” I hear Derek exclaim. “Let her go, Peter!”  
        I continue to gasp for air and clasp Peter’s hand tightly.  
        “Now why would I do that? I’ve been nice to her all night and all she’s been is mean to me.”  
        “I’ll hear you out Peter. Just let her go.”  
        Tears brimmed in my eyes and as much as I wanted to tell Derek to leave me and to get out of here, I was being choked to death by his psycho uncle.  
        “No, now I’m going to need more than that.” Peter states loosening his hold on me. I take a deep shallow breath as he lets me back on my feet. His hands were still on my neck ready to add pressure if needed. “I want you to be in my pack, Derek. If you refuse, I’ll kill her and then force you to be in my pack.”  
        “Derek don’t listen to him…” I start to say but Peter quickly tightens on my neck and I gasp at the loss of air.  
        “Fine, I’ll be in your pack.” Derek states crawling up to his feet as his injuries were now healed. “Just let her go.”  
        “You care about her.” Peter states looking at me quizzically. He leans in closely and sniffs me out. “She does smell nice and she’s pretty. She really has nice soft skin.”    
        "Let her go." Derek growls out.  
        Peter continues to let his hand caress my cheek as he stares at me intensely. He then releases me harshly and I gasp for air as I slide down the wall. My hand grasps my neck and I felt the bruises around it due to the strong pressure of Peter's hands.  
        “Unlike Scott, you’re rite of passage to my pack won’t involve you killing people. That'll come later.” Peter starts to say. “I want you to kick her out. I need to explain some things to you since it’s strictly family business. And after everything, we’re still family.”  
        Derek looks down at me with a blank expression. I knew he felt guilty about what he was about to do next so I look away from him in hopes it would make it easier for him. Derek pulls me up and I gasp in pain as he pushes me back. I try to remain balance but my muscles were still healing and I found myself on the floor again. Derek then raises his foot and kicks me in the stomach. I cry out in pain and close my eyes as I feel Derek pull me up again but this time he throws me over the reception desk and I land on the shards of glass.  
        “I did say to kick her out.” I hear Peter say loudly. “I didn’t mean it literally.”  
        My eyes flash red and I howl in pain. Not because of my leg. Not because of the loss of air. Not because of the shards of glass that were pierced throughout my back and neck. It all had to due with the pain that was going on inside me. My eyes flash red again and I feel my claws extend. I scratch the tile floor leaving indentations as I felt a searing burning sensation inside me. Time seemed to have slowed through this and I felt myself coming in and out of consciousness.  
        “What’s happening to me?” I whisper as I clutched to my side.  
        “It’s the breaking of the bonds.” Peter replies as he looks over at me. “Derek betrayed you, his alpha. He so rudely broke off the bond between you and him so he could side with me. The act of betrayal was due to have some side effects on you.”  
        I cry out as another wave of pain passed over to me. I close my eyes as tears threatened to spill over. I gasp as if I lost air and felt my wolf trashing inside me unsure of what to do.  
        “Now, Stiles. I’ll leave her to your care.” I hear Peter say above me. “Who knows how long this will last…”


	20. Returning the Favor

        Flashing lights flickered through my closed eyelids and I groan as I turn over. I slowly open my eyes to find streetlights passing by me. I look down to find myself seated in Stiles' Jeep as he drove down the road in an alarming speed. I couldn't remember how I got here.   
        "Stiles?" I ask weakly. "What's going on? What happened?"   
        "Peter happened." Stiles states. "We're heading towards the school. I have a feeling that Peter is going to threaten Scott into his pack as well."   
        "Well step on the gas." I exclaim. "That son of a bitch isn't going to get stronger if I can help it."   
        Stiles hearing this goes faster and we make it to the school fairly quickly. I stumble out of the car and run inside with Stiles at my heel. I make my way to the locker room and find Scott sitting down with a depressive look on his face. I sigh in relief seeing he was ok.   
        "Dude, we have a huge problem." Stiles states. Scott turns to us and nods.   
        "Trust me... I know."   
        "What did he do?" I ask him. "What did Peter tell you?"   
        "It's not what he told me. It was what he showed me." Scott answers. "He showed me his memories of the fire. Of how he mindlessly turned at the full moon. Of how he killed Laura."   
        I notice the scratches on the back of his neck and realized how everything was made possible. I gently inspect them but they were already healing. I let Scott go and look down at the two teenagers.   
        "We're in a lot of trouble now, boys. I'm really going to need your help. Now more than ever." 

****************

        Scott and Stiles drove around in the Jeep while I took the more flexible approach and decided to run. I jump over a couple of buildings as I find Jackson driving his Porsche in circles in an abandoned lot. The sportscar randomly slows down and Jackson steps out confused. I kept myself out of sight and slowed down as I notice Jackson checking the hood. Out of nowhere, a red SUV appears and parks right beside Jackson. Chris Argent steps out and walks towards Jackson.   
        "Car trouble?" he asks him.   
        "It's ok. I'm just gonna call a tow truck." Jackson replies as he pulls out his phone. I sigh in relief as Jackson played this smart but Argent wasn't letting him go so easily.  
        "Oh, I know a few things about cars. Could be something simple."   
        "I don't know... I mean, it's a pretty expensive car and they pull all this warranty crap if you do your own repairs, right?" Jackson asks him.   
        "Well... I won't tell if you won't." Chris says as he looks under the hood. "It's Jackson, right? Come here. I'll show you what to look for."   
        Jackson hesitantly walks over to him and I walk over to the edge of the building waiting. Chris slightly forces Jackson to check under the hood and I notice him looking at the scratches on his neck. Scott was right when he talked to me last night. The Argents were suspecting Jackson as the other beta the night they started to track them. What they didn't know was that it was Scott instead of Jackson. I was also surprised that they haven't found out about me.   
        "Your neck. You hurt yourself?" Chris asks him.   
        "No. I mean, it's just- just a scratch." Jackson stammers out. I could hear his heartbeat rise and the stuttering made it worse.   
        "Well, it looks more than a scratch. Kinda looks like claw marks."  
        Jackson pulls away from Chris and I reach for my phone and start to call Stiles so they can make their way here. Chris takes notice of Jackson's reluctance.   
        "You alright?" he asks him.   
        "Yeah, look... I'm just gonna call for a tow truck, ok?" Jackson states.   
        "Is there any reason you're so reluctant to tell me what it was that did that?" Chris asks him. I was ready to jump in to prevent further questioning but Stiles' Jeep comes driving in.   
        "What's up?" Stiles asks with his goofy grin. Scott leans over and looks at Chris and Jackson.  
        "Is everything ok?" he asks.   
        "Hey, Scott. Your friend here was having car trouble. We're just taking a look." Chris replies.  
        "There's a shop right down the street. I'm sure they have a tow truck." Scott tells them.   
        "Yeah. You want a ride?" Stiles asks him as Scott opens the door. Jackson seems to hesitate at this. "Hey, come on Jackson. You're way too pretty to be out here all by yourself."  
        Jackson starts to head over to them but I see Chris reach over the engine and pull something out. I should have known he orchestrated this whole thing. Chris then walks over to the car.   
        "Hey boys..." he calls out as he turns the car on and the engine purrs right. "Told you I knew a few things about cars."   
        Chris leaves without another word and once his car drives out Jackson turns to Scott and Stiles.   
        "What? Are you following me now?" Jackson exclaims. I jump off the building and land crouching before standing up.   
        "Yes, we are you idiot." I answer. Everyone turns to look at me in surprise. I just raise an eyebrow at them before facing Jackson. "You almost gave away everything."  
        "I knew it!" Jackson exclaims. "I knew you were a part of this. It makes sense why you hung out with the two of them."  
        "Good for you, Jackson." I say with a roll of my eyes. "You're just the smartest boy in town except you're not. You almost got us all in trouble."   
        "What are you talking about?" Jackson asks.   
        "He thinks you're the second beta." Scott answers.   
        "What?" Jackson asks confused.  
        "He thinks you're me!" Scott shouts angrily as he hits Stiles' car.   
        "Dude my Jeep." he whimpers.   
        "I can hear your heartbeat from a mile away... literally. Now he thinks that there's something wrong, and now I have to keep an eye on you so he doesn't kill you too!" Scott exclaims as he reaches to hit Stiles' Jeep again.  
        "Okay, how about we step away from Stiles' Jeep." Stiles says stepping in.   
        "This is your problem, not mine, ok?" Jackson states. "I didn't say anything, which means you're the one that' gonna get me killed. This is  _your_  fault."   
        Jackson then pushes Scott into the side of Stiles' Jeep and Stiles exclaims again.   
        "Can we stop hitting my Jeep?"   
        Seeing how Jackson and Scott were staring at each other I make my way in between them and push them away from each other.   
        "Yo guys, stop! Alright? Both of your behaviours are going to get us killed. Now stop!" I yell at them. Scott pushes past me and glares at Jackson.   
        "When they come after you, I won't be able to protect you. I can't protect anyone." Scott says as he turns to Stiles. Stiles looks worriedly back at him.   
        "Why are you looking at me?" Stiles asks him.   
        "You know, now you have to do it. Get me what I want, and I will be fine protecting myself." Jackson tells Scott which left me very confused. Scott looks nervously at me and turns back to Jackson.   
        "No, you won't. Just trust me. All it does is make things worse." Scott tells him.   
        "Oh yeah?" Jackson asks him. "You can hear anything you want and run faster than humanly possible. Sounds like a real hardship."  
        "Yeah, we can run really fast... now except half of the time, we're running away from people trying to kill us." I tell him.   
        "And I can hear things like... like my girlfriend telling people that she doesn't trust me anymore right before breaking up with me. I'm not lying to you! It ruins your life." Scott explains to him.   
        "It  _ruined_  your life." Jackson argues. "You had all the power in the world, and you didn't know what to with it. You know what it's actually like? It's like you turned 16 and someone bought you a Porsche when they should have started you out with a nice little Honda. Me? I drive a Porsche."   
        Jackson then gets into his car and drives off. I turn to Scott and Stiles who looked at me nervously. I put my hands on my hips as I stared them down.  
        "Does someone care to explain to me Jackson's desire for the bite?" I ask them. "I knew he knew about us but I didn't know about this."  
        "I can explain..." Scott says nervously.  
        "Yeah, that's what I'm waiting for."    
        "Jackson came to me last night after the game demanding the bite. He gave me now two days to give it to him since well...the winter formal is in two days and he promised he would convince Allison to go with me."   
        "I hope you're not asking me to..."   
        "No, of course not!" Scott exclaims. "I meant what I said. The bite ruined my life. I'm not going to drag Jackson into this."   
        "Happy to know you care for that bastard." Stiles mutters. "Did you hear what he just said?  _Me? I drive a Porsche._  Like that happens to everyone."   
        "Yeah we can all agree that Jackson is a pompous ass but one that we have to keep alive. He knows too much and he could die either by hunters or by Peter. We need to careful."  
        I turn away from them and was ready to walk away when Stiles shouts out at me.  
        "Where are you going?" he asks me. "I can give you a ride."   
        "I'll rather run home." I answer.   
        "Has Derek...?" Scott starts to ask and I stop walking at the mention of his name.   
        "No, he didn't come home last night." I answer.   
        "Have you talked to him?" Scott asks me.  
        "No." I answer turning back to them. "I can't...He's Peter bitch now. I won't deal with him."   
        "He gave himself up to save you." Stiles says coming up to Derek's aid. "Without him, you would have died."   
        "I almost did when he left!" I yell back at them. "I felt like someone was tearing a limb off of me when Derek switched to Peter's pack. It felt like I was feeling my death over and over again. I passed out, remember? And yes he did it to save me but I didn't need his help. I would have been fine on my own."   
        Scott and Stiles don't say anything and I take a deep breath before turning away from them. I pull out my phone and put in my earplugs before running back home. 

**************

        My training was rougher today as the punching bag swayed non-stop with my punches and kicks. I was so angry with myself and at Derek and at Peter and at Jackson. Everything about today made me very pissed. This was the only thing that seemed to calm me down. I continued putting my anger through my punches but stop when I notice my claws coming out. My wolf growled but I calm her down as I rip off the wrapping around my hands.  
        I turn off the music from the stereo and notice the missed phone calls. They were all from the Sheriff and I open up the voicemail he left me to find out what he wanted. I hear his tired voice asking me if I would help him go over the murder cases. He needed a fresh pair of eyes and he also knew of my involvement with Derek as he mentioned the sign release papers for his car. I was invited over to his place for questions and most likely some answers.   
        I send him a text saying I'll meet him at his house in a couple of minutes since I had to change out of my workout clothes. After [changing](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=183180274) I make my way to the Sheriff's house. I knock on the door before realizing it wa unlocked. I slowly walk in and find the Sheriff sitting with case files and papers all around him.   
        "I'm sorry to interrupt but the door was open so I let myself in." I say as I walk in. The Sheriff looks up at me in surprise. "How are you doing with all of this?"   
        I put my bag down and inspect the paper covered table.   
        "I don't have the faintest clue." Sheriff sighs out. "That's why I asked for your help."   
        "I'm flattered really but I know why I'm really here. This is about Derek, isn't it?" I ask him. Sheriff Stilinski just nods and motions for me to sit down. I pull out a chair and do so. "What do you want to know?"   
        The Sheriff pulls out the release papers that I signed for Derek's car and points at them.   
        "I want your explanation on this." he tells me. "Because one of my deputies has a story that doesn't really seem to fit with everything that's going on."  
        "I don't know what you mean." I state.   
        "Look. I have a feeling that Derek isn't behind these murders. It just doesn't make sense that he would go after his girlfriend and then ask her to sign out his car."   
        I sigh as I look over them and close the file.   
        "Derek's my neighbour. He's not my boyfriend. We've talked a couple of times and we might have had a more personal relationship that I don't really want to get into that." I tell him. "And you're right. It doesn't make sense that he would ask me to do this because he is innocent. Derek wasn't the one who attacked us that night but all I have are words that can't really prove that."   
        The Sheriff just sighs at that and returns to the files.   
        "Well now I feel bad for making you drive all the way over here for pointless questions."  
        I look over the files and start to look through them. I slip off my coat and roll up my sleeves.   
        "I think I can put myself to work. I am slightly educated for this line of work. I think I might be able to help." I tell him. The Sheriff seems to want to argue about my involvement but sighs and gives in. I look over the medical examinations of the body and check over the list of the victims. I see a slight connection as I read over them.   
        "They're all connected..." I whisper as I look over all of the victim's files. "They all had to do with the Hale fire."   
        The Sheriff turns to me and nods.   
        "The thing that doesn't make sense is why would Derek start with his sister. She had nothing to do with the fire."   
        "Derek?" I ask him not liking his name being used in the murders.   
        "I've got no other leads but him..." the Sheriff answers. I look away and continue to look over the reports. All of the signs were there that Peter did this. I was so distracted by my mental notes that I didn't hear Stiles come in.   
        "Whatcha doing?" he asks. I look back at him in surprise and I knew he felt the same way when he looked back at me. "Diana, hey..."   
        "Hi Stiles," I answer as I turn back to the files.   
        "So I'm going to ask again, whatcha doing?" Stiles asks us.   
        "Work." the Sheriff responds.   
        "Anything I can help with?" Stiles asks his dad.   
        "You know, if you poured me an ounce of whiskey, that would be awfully nice."   
        Stiles goes to grab the bottle and glasses.   
        "You want a shot too, Diana?" he asks me but I just shake my head no as I focus on the papers. At the corner of my eye, I notice Stiles pouring more than an ounce of whiskey and hands it to his father. The Sheriff doesn't notice the very big difference.   
        "Any leads?" Stiles asks him.   
        "You know I can't discuss that with you."   
        "Well why can Diana know?" Stiles asks him.   
        "Maybe because I took some forensic courses and animal behavior classes to help out." I state. Stiles look at me in shock.  
        "What else did you study?" he asks me.   
        "Loads of things." I answer. "I had a lot of free time."   
        "Enough to learn another language?" Stiles asks me. "Yeah I remember that time..."   
        I give him a glare to shut him up seeing that he was about to spill the scene that happened in his room just a day ago. Stiles realizing this gulps and shuts up. During this time, Sheriff downs the brim-filled glass of whiskey and I could already tell it was having an effect on him.  
        "You know, Derek Hale would be a whole hale of a lot...Hale of a lot?"   
        "Hell of a lot?" I correct which Sheriff just nods.          
        "Hell. Yes. He would be a hell of alot easier to catch if we could get an actual picture of him."  
        "How do you not have a picture of him?" Stiles asks him.   
        "It's the weirdest thing..." he says as he pulls out the mug shot. "It's like every time we tried to get a mug shot there's two laser beams pointing at the camera."   
        I look over at the picture and see it was exactly like the Sheriff had described it to be. I clear my throat and quickly put it away knowing the reason why they did that. It was smart of him to do it but it was also risky.   
        "Oh my god... God, that ounce hit me like a brick." Sheriff groans as he rubs his eyes. "And I have said way too much, and if you repeat any of that..."   
        "Dad it's me..." Stiles tells him. "I'm not gonna say anything. Come on."   
        "I'll make sure he won't, Sheriff." I state as I look over at Stiles who just shrugs and pulls up a chair. He looks over the files and I didn't even make the attempt to stop him. Stiles was bent into finding out more about this case and the more that knew the details, the better.   
        "See, the thing is they're all connected." Sheriff states. "I mean the bus driver that got killed, he was an insurance investigator assigned to the Hale house fire."   
        "He was terminated under suspicion of fraud." I say reading out the report.   
        "Exactly," Sheriff agrees.  
        "Who else?" Stiles asks.   
        "The video store clerk who got his throat slashed... he's a convicted felon, history of arson."    
        "What about the other two guys, the guys who got killed in the woods?" Stiles asks us.   
        "All over their records theirs illegal actions including..." I start to say. "Arson."   
        "So maybe they all had something to do with the fire." Stiles mutters as he turns to me. I nod as we all make that connection. Stiles then turns back to his dad. "Another shot?"   
        The Sheriff shakes his head.   
        "No, no, no, no more."   
        "Dad, come on. You work really hard, all right? You deserve it."   
        I stand up from the table and start to organize the mess on the table. Stiles gives me a thankful glance as he turns back to his father.   
        "Oh, my God, I'm gonna have such a hangover."   
        "You mean you're gonna have such a good night's sleep." Stiles says serving him more. "And I'm gonna have an eternity in the lowest circle of hell."   
        The Sheriff downs the second shot and throws another file into the pile. He starts to roll the glass on the table and it almost falls if it wasn't for Stiles who caught it. The Sheriff tries to shake of his drowsiness but it doesn't seem to work. He rubs his eyes again as he faces us.  
        "There's just so many questions."   
        "Like what?" Stiles asks him.    
        "Like if Derek - wanted to kill everyone involved with the fire. Then why start with his sister? I mean, she had nothing to do with it. Why make it look like some kind of animal did it? When that cougar ended up in the parking lot - I checked with animal control. You know the instances of wild animal reports were up 70% over the past few months? It's like they're just going crazy, running out of the woods. I just don't know."   
        "Or something's scaring them out." Stiles says as he glances up at me. I nod agreeing with him as I take the glass and whiskey to put it back in the kitchen. I was about to head back into the dining room but the conversation turned to an unexpected topic.   
        " _You know, I miss talking to you. It's like we never have time..."_  
        "Dad, you know, I have to make a phone call...I'm sorry." Stiles says as he gets out of his seat and pulls out his phone. "I'll be right back."   
        " _I do. I miss it."_ Sheriff continues. " _And I miss your mom._ "   
        I see Stiles stop and turn back to his father sadly. I slowly make my way back to the dining room and see the Sheriff trying to stand up. I quickly help him up and put his arms around me since he was unbalanced.  
        "Thanks."   
        I turn to Stiles who seemed to be in conflict.   
        "Go." I tell him. "Make that phone call. I'll take care of him."   
        Stiles nods and leaves the room to call Scott and I start to take the Sheriff down the hall to what I suspected was his bedroom. I open the door and help him into bed. He was groaning and his eyes were closed. I made sure to tuck him in seeing his sleeping state.   
        "He's a great kid, Sheriff. Very smart," I say as I turned off the lights. "I'll make sure to keep him safe for you. I know that he's all you have." 

**************

        I walk out of the Stilinski house to find Stiles waiting for me in his Jeep. I look at him confused but he's quick to come with an explanation. Scott's mom had apparently gotten a date with Peter. She of course didn't know anything about what was happening and the trouble that she was in. Stiles decided to go interrupt their date and I was going to follow him to make sure he didn't get killed. Scott was tracking his mom and was sending us updates to where she is.   
        We were driving down a pretty calm street and I notice a car pulled at the side. I could sense Peter from here and before I could pull over, Stiles who was in front of me, rear ends them. I notice the trail of cars behind me as I stop my car and get out.   
        "Oh, are you kidding me? Stiles!" I hear Scott's mom exclaim.   
        "Ms. McCall?" Stiles asks cluelessly. "Wow, this is - this is just crazy. What a coincidence, huh?"   
        I walk up to them and check the damage. I then look at Peter and Ms. McCall. Since they were on a date and Peter was a threat, I just knew the exact way to end this permanently.   
        "Peter?" I ask as I walk up to him. "What's going on? Who's she?"   
        I point to Ms. McCall with a serious expression.   
        "I'm sorry. You two know each other?" she asks me.   
        "Know each other?" I ask back. "Of course we know each other. He took me on a couple of dates and then never called back."  
        I turn to Peter and give him a long overdue slap. Ms. McCall looks at us shocked and then turns away. She faces Stiles and starts to argue with him about repairs while I turn back to Peter.   
        "Nicely done, Diana." he mutters with a smirk. "Nicely done."   
        "Well you did deserve it you lying bastard." I say as I look at him.   
        "I'm assuming Scott's somewhere around here because how would you know where we were at." Peter says looking around. "Well I'm impressed, Scott. It's too bad most teenagers aren't that smart. It's like that one on the lacrosse team - Jackson. Thinks he knows all about us. You know how they say knowledge is power. Not in his case."   
        I look at Peter with horror and quickly make my way to my car. I find Scott already in the passenger seat and we leave Stiles to clean up our mess as we made our way out of the traffic. I start to drive to the Hale house knowing that would be the only place they would take Jackson too. It was secluded, no one would suspect it, and it was where all of this had started. If Peter wasn't with Jackson then there was only one person left, Derek.   
        I press on the gas even harder as we make our way through the woods. Dirt and leaves were flying around us and once I see the Hale house come into view, I shut off the car and start to run in. I could hear them at the bottom floor and near the front entrance. I stop and turn to Scott who was right behind me.   
        "I need you to give me a boost to the roof." I tell him. "He'll hear me coming if I use the back entrance."   
        "I'm not letting you go in there alone." Scott tells me. "I'm coming with you."   
        I knew there wasn't time to argue so I nod and Scott places his hands together. I take a running start and place my foot on his hands. He then pushes me up and I land on the roof quietly. From there, I pull up Scott and we enter through an open window.   
        " _Look around you! Wouldn't there be someone here trying to save you? There's no one here. There is a reason. No one cares that you drive an expensive car. No one cares that you have perfect hair, and no one cares that you're captain of the lacrosse team._ "   
        "Excuse me," I say as I walk out to the staircase. "I care."   
        "And it's co-captain." Scott says standing beside me. Scott and I jump over the flight of stairs and land right in front of Jackson. I push him behind me and let my red eyes glow. Derek wolves out on me.  
        "Move!" Derek growls at us.  
        "No." I answer.   
        "Fine. I'll just kill all of you." Derek says. I hear the ringing of a shot arrow and Derek turns back to us. "Cover your eyes!"   
        I close my eyes and feel someone tackling me to the ground. I open my eyes to see the flash die down but that wasn't their last attack. Bullets flew all over the house and I managed to miss them all. I look up to find Derek's blue beta eyes looking down at me and knew he was the cause I was unharmed.   
        "You have to go." Derek tells me. "Run!"   
        "No, not without you." I tell him but I didn't have a choice as he helps me up and pushes me to the back door. I look back at Derek and made the rash decision to pull him by his leather jacket. My lips crash against his and I pull back and push him out of the way as another round of shots go through. One hits me on the side and I fall down to the floor. I look at Derek to find him back to his human self. His green eyes stared up at me and he starts to push me down the hall again.   
        I trip over Scott and pick him up, I start to carry him out and look back at Derek to find him wolfed out again and opening the door. I knew he was sacrificing himself for us and it was too late for me to intervene. I was blinded by a harsh light and wasn't able to see much else.   
        I start to drag Scott out and try my best to move us as quickly as I can. I was breathing heavily due to the constant pain on my abdomen. I turn to Scott who was barely keeping his eyes open. I look at his wounds and see black smoke coming out of them and knew that mine probably looked the same. I was distracted by this that I trip over a tree root and we both fall. Scott was in too much pain to realized what had happened to us.   
        "Allison." he whispers. I look down at him and try to force him awake but he wasn't opening his eyes.   
        "Come on, Scotty." I shake him. "I can't lose you. Not right now. Come on, wake up."   
        Scott's heart was beating slower and I knew we would never make it to my house with both of our injuries. I reach my phone and dial the only person I had left to help.   
        "Deaton, it's me. We're in the woods. About half a mile away from the Hale house. We were attacked and Scott isn't doing so well. I need your help. I don't know what to do." I say. I didn't realize how full of emotion my voice sounded. I bit my lip as tears threatened to spill. "I don't know what to do and he's dying."   
        "I'm on my way, Diana. Don't do anything until I get there. Just remain hidden."  
        Deaton hangs up and I drag Scott under some trees and cover ourselves with leaves. It felt like hours had passed and I felt Scott's breathing become slower. I see a flashing light and quickly cover Scott's mouth to silence him. The light gets closer to us and I sigh as I notice it's Deaton.   
        "Thank God," I whisper as I start to wave my hands. Deaton quickly makes his way to us. He looks over at Scott and pulls him off of me.  
        "Stop," Scott groans out.   
        "It's all right, Scott. You're gonna be alright." Deaton comforts him.   
        We both make it towards Deaton's car and we make a rushed drive towards the clinic. I help Deaton by opening the doors and clearing the surgical table. Deaton starts to work on Scott while I put pressure on my wound. I raise up my shirt and Deaton looks over my infected wound.   
        "Diana..." he starts to say but I ignore him as I grab supplies on my own.   
        "Focus on Scott." I tell him. "I can handle myself."   
        I grab a towel and some tweezers. Deaton already has some bandages and disinfectant out. I sit on the nearby counter and pull up my shirt. I place the towel in my mouth as I used the tweezers to dig out the bullet. I bite into the towel as pain racked through me. Once the bullet was out I spit out the towel. I clean up my wound and add the disinfectant. I look back up at Scott who was regaining consciousness.   
        "I wouldn't get up just, yet." Deaton tells him as he drops the second bullet to the plate.   
        "Where am I...?" Scott starts to ask him.   
        "You're fine. And I've given you something that should...speed up the healing process." Deaton answers.   
        "But you're a vet." Scott states.   
        "That's very true. And 90% of the time, I'm treating cats and dogs."   
        "The other 10% he's taking care of me..." I say as I place the large bandaid on my bullet wound. I turn back to Deaton as Scott falls back unconscious. "You seem to have this handled. I'm going to go."   
        I grab my jacket and was ready to head out when Deaton grabs my wrist and pulls me back.  
        "Where are you going? You're not fully healed yet."   
        I sigh as I turn back to him and scratch my head.   
        "Look, I was pissed at Derek for always having this thing about saving me. He even sided with Peter to save me and still he had this need to save me tonight. He sacrificed himself to the hunters for us... for me. Derek might not be my beta anymore but..." I tell him. "But it's about time to return the favor and I'm going to find him and I'm going to save him." 


	21. Caged

        I arrived home and made sure no one had broken in. I didn't know if the hunters have bothered to check the surrounding areas so I had to make sure they hadn't found out about me. I look around my place finding it the same as before, alone. I made my way to my bedroom and changed out of my bloodied clothes.  
        After washing some of the dirt off my face, I made it to my basement and grabbed my shotgun and placed it on its case. I [sling the bag over ](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=183506525)my shoulder and walk out. I check my house one more time and as I headed out I saw a big envelope on the dining table. I hadn't checked my mail for days now with everything that's happened. I hesitate to open it but it seemed urgent and I knew it had to do with Isaac.  
        I open the letter and find the paperwork that I had to fill out to start an investigation and for the removal of custody from Mr. Lahey. I had to meet some requirements and then give them a call for an interview in order for me to gain temporary custody of Isaac. I sigh in relief that at least something good had come out after all this supernatural drama. All that was left to do was sign a few papers, clean out the house from weapons, and kill the Alpha. Everything was so close to being perfect...or almost perfect.   
        I put the papers aside and walk out of the house. I lock it and back away from it. Something told me that things were never going to be the same when I came back to this house. I could only hope that my gut was signaling me for future goodness. I turn my back to my cabin and made the trek to the Hale house.  
        I saw no one around as I approached it. As I made my way down the hill, I took notice of the tire tracks that led to the house. There were four tracks, which meant there were two cars. From the size of the tires they were either trucks or SUV's. I continue walking down the hill searching for any type of clue but find none.  
        I reach the porch of the house and kneel down searching for blood. If Derek got shot there should be a trail of blood but I found nothing. The only scent of blood I caught was Scott's and I knew that was from his injuries last night. As for Derek there seemed to be no sign of him ever being here.  
        I sigh as I tried to think of places he could be or if he managed to escape but I knew that was highly unlikely. I bite the end of my nail and stand up. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.   
  
         _"Focus!"_  
         _My eyes snap open and I look through the darkness of the night to see the figure of my father pacing around angrily. I remained in my crouched position grabbing a bit of the dirt on the ground. Marcos just sighs as he looks around the forest._  
         _"I told you she wasn't ready."_  
         _"I'm ready! I just need a few more seconds..." I tell them. I stand up, close my eyes again, and take a deep breath. My mother used to tell me that everything can be heard if we just stood silent for a while. That nature itself would reveal itself on it's own._  
         _The wind slowly picks up my hair and it brushes against my face. I hear the nearby trees rustle their leaves. I pushed past that and tried to listen to the silence of the forest. I open my eyes as I hear a distant howl.  
        "I know where they are." I say as I pick up the shotgun and make my way down the hill. My father and brother share a look but follow after me. This was my hunt. It was my final test to prove myself as a worthy hunter. I made sure to be quiet even though it was hard with the dry leaves on the ground that crunched under our feet. We reach a creak and I step intuit ready to walk through it. My father and brother stop and look at me crazily._  
         _"They'll smell us coming," I tell them. "We need to wash off our scent."_  
         _Luckily they don't argue and follow after me. We splash our way through the small creek and get to the other side. From there on we walk up a hill. Once I got to the top I find a fire burning and two figures leaning over what seemed to be a dead animal. They hadn't noticed my arrival. My brother and father stand beside me once they climbed up the hill and stare at the campsite in awe._  
         _"I didn't think you would actually find them." Marcos states surprised._  
         _"I always knew you had it in you." my dad says smiling down at me. "Your grandmother was right. Natural talent is what you have. Just like your mother..."_  
          
        I open my eyes and look around the house. If there's no trace of Derek's blood than that meant he wasn't shot. They wouldn't have just let him go. That's not a hunter's style. They had him cornered. So what did they do with him? I look at the ground again and find the soil disrupted as if there was a struggle. Of course...The only reason they wouldn't shoot at Derek was if there prime purpose was to capture him. They wouldn't want to risk injuring him. They wanted him alive and for one reason only, to find the Alpha.  
        I growled at myself for not noticing this sooner. I would have never let him sacrifice himself if I knew this. The Argents would try anything and everything to get the information out of him. Derek was most likely suffering through some very skilled torturers and I blamed myself for leaving him to that treatment. I didn't know what to do from here. I look around the house and realize that it shouldn't be this unsupervised. No... if I knew that Derek was in contact with the Alpha I would make sure to supervise every place he frequented. So...why was the Hale house left alone?  
        I look around the forest one more time before making my way inside the house. I find it abandoned as usual but as a precaution I pulled the gun sling over my shoulder and pulled out my shotgun. I pump it twice loading the shells and look around.   
        "Come out you cowards!" I shout out. "I know you have eyes on me!"  
        I shoot the gun twice as another attempt to catch their attention. I turn around once again and find a pretty big guy in front of me. I then look behind me to find another man blocking my way out. I had no clue where they came from but I knew they were the ones who were going to lead me to Derek.   
        "What's that saying?" I ask them as they circle closer to me. "It takes two to tango. Well how about we try with three?"  
        I use the butt of my gun to slam the first guy in the face while I turn back to the other guy and jam the other end into his stomach. I was ready to swing the gun to his face when all of a sudden, the first man grabs me and pins my arms behind me. The other guy groans but recovers and walks up to me angrily.  
        "You bitch!" he shouts as he punches me in the face. I give him a bloody smirk as I recover.  
        "I prefer she-wolf."   
        I swing up my knee and hit him in the groin. He falls to his knees in pain and I take this chance to kick him in the face. The other guy pulls my arms more behind me and I cry out in pain. I quickly jam the heel of my foot into his knee, which causes him to release me. I then turn around and punch him repeatedly on the face. I see him quickly become disoriented and it doesn't take him long to fall to the ground. I was about to start on the other guy again when I hear the clicking of a gun. I wipe the blood off my face as I turn around. I find Kate Argent pointing a gun at me with a grim smile.  
        "Well, well, well... what do we have here?" she asks.   
        I spit the blood in my mouth at her feet as I raised my hands in the air.   
        "Would you believe me if I said I was selling Girl Scout cookies?" I ask jokingly. Kate laughs at that but doesn't put her gun away.  
        "Funny." Kate remarks. "But funny can easily become stupid and I usually tend to kill stupid."  
        "Then I'll make sure to keep my smart little mouth shut." I answer. "Now why don't you put away your gun and make this a fair fight."   
        Kate chuckles at this.  
        "I don't play fair when it comes to werewolves." Kate states. "Especially she-wolves."   
        Kate pulls the trigger and I quickly dodge the bullet. I make a run for her before she pulls the trigger again. She quickly drops the gun and pushes me into the wall. My claws extend and I was about to scratch her face when electricity runs through me and causes my claws to retract. I groan as I look down and find a taser shooting volts through my abdomen. I close my eyes as I hold back my screams. Kate lets me go and I slump to the ground. Electricity still ran through me and I spaz out on the floor. I tried to keep my eyes open but the pain was too much and one kick to the head made everything black.

**************

        I wake up with a big headache. I groan from the dulling pain and when I try to reach for my head I'm stopped from doing so. I open my eyes groggily to find myself chained to a metal fence. The ringing in my ear disappears and I hear my name being called out. I turn to the direction of the voice and find Derek chained up beside me.   
        "I found you..." I say as I look into his eyes. I turn away from him and look around again. "And where are we exactly?"   
        "We're underground. In a tunnel-like basement that's under my house."   
        "So I was right...kind of." I mutter as I look up at the chains that were holding me. I try to break them off but they were pretty strong and most likely made to keep werewolves in.   
        "What are you doing here, Diana?" Derek growls out.  
        "I came to save your sorry ass." I exclaim back. He just glares at me and looks away.   
        "Please tell me you brought Scott."  
        I don't say anything, which causes Derek to turn back to me.  
        "Please tell me you told someone where you were."   
        Once again I remain silent and Derek becomes angrier.  
        "Please tell me you have a better plan than staying quiet."   
        "Look, me coming to save you was a spur of the moment thing, ok?" I explain myself. "I'm just so sick and tired of you sacrificing yourself for me. You've been doing it ever since we've met me and I honestly don't understand why. So I thought it was about time to return the favor to pay you back. I came here to save you but now we're both stuck."   
        Derek looks away from me as I say this and the room grows quiet. I look around the room again and find my jacket laid out on the table. My phone and wallet was out and so were my keys. I look down at myself and find my shirt ripped in half, which caused my sports bra to be revealed. On my right side of my abdomen I found a patch with wires coming out. I followed the wires to find a generator with a turn dial. Derek notices where my eyes strayed to and begins to inform me of what's happened.  
        "Kate has been electrocuting me all night trying to get me to tell her who the Alpha is. I haven't said anything so she keeps on turning up the dial. At some point she brought Allison along so now she knows about us. They still don't know who the second beta is but I'm guessing with you here they might suspect it's you. I haven't seen them ever since they brought you in but I doubt they're done with us."  
        I nod as I hear this but couldn't keep my eyes away from the generator. I take a deep breath and look away knowing I've suffered worse torture than this. I can get through this.   
        I notice Derek still staring at me so I turn to him confused. His face was blank but I knew his mind was full of thoughts.   
        "What are you...?" I begin to ask but Derek interrupts me.   
        "Thank you for coming to save me." Derek states.  "It's good to hear that I'm not alone anymore."   
        My mind goes blank as he said this and I couldn't find the words to make up a response. I never knew Derek felt this way and right as I was about to tell him that, the door slides open. Kate walks in with a sadistic grin as she holds my shotgun in her hands.  
        "So I tried to run the serial number on this just to find its scratched off." Kate says raising the gun to me. "It is a nice shotgun though. I'm going to keep it after I shoot you with it."   
        I don't let fear show in my face as she aims the gun at me. Not getting the reaction she wants, Kate laughs and throws the gun to the nearby table.   
        "I'm just joking," Kate tells me as she walks over. "I want to get to know you before I dispose of you."   
        "Well, if that's the case...I'm Diana Ross. Age 21. Brown Eyes. Brown Hair. I'm a Scorpio. I like long walks by the beach..." I start to say but Kate slaps me. My head drops and I smile as I felt my lip bust open. I shake the hair out of my face and look up at her.  
        "Like I told you. Funny can turn stupid real quick." Kate says not amused. She steps closer to me and we were face to face. "So tell me... what's a girl like you hanging with a Hale? Let me guess, you two are dating."   
        I glare at her and don't say anything. Kate backs away and walks towards Derek.   
        "Is this your little girlfriend?" she asks him. "A she-wolf with decent fighting skills and a very nice shotgun. Sounds like she's out of your league, Derek."   
        "We're not together." Derek growls out. Kate steps back in mock surprise.   
        "Really?" she asks. "Cause I wouldn't risk my life for anyone."  
        "We're not together." I repeat.   
        "Ok... so if you two aren't together then there's only one theory left..." Kate says pacing in front of us. She feigns being thoughtful before she turns to me and points. "You must be the second beta. Of course my brother's swore seeing a young boy but it could have easily been a woman."   
        Kate turns away and puts her hand behind her back as she walks towards the door.   
        "But... that doesn't make sense because females lose control much more easier than a male beta and you have yet to lose control which means you’ve had time to adapt." Kate states. Her head looks up and she turns back to me. "So who are you really and how come we didn't know about you before?"   
        "I'll tell you what I am..." I say as I roll my shoulders back. My bones started to crack and shift to their right places. A growl erupts in my throat and I look up at Kate with my red eyes. "I'm your worst nightmare."  
        I move to attack her but she quickly puts her hand on the dial and turns it up. I let out a scream as electricity ran through my body higher than the taser that was used on me before. I tried to continue with the shift but my wolf howled in pain and refused to come out. Feeling that I've had enough, Kate turns the dial down.   
        "The Alpha." Kate says in amazement. "That explains some of it... but not all."   
        I turn my head down to weak to keep it up. All of my bones and muscle ached and I could still feel the twinge of electricity run through me.   
        "Come on, talk to me." Kate says pushing my head up. "You're not the Alpha who's killing people, are you?"  
        I close my eyes and don't say anything.   
        "That's what I thought." Kate says letting my head drop. "And I'm guessing you're not going to give up who to the other Alpha is."   
        I shake my head knowing that this wasn't up to me to give Peter up. It should be Derek. Seeming to know this too, Kate turns to Derek who's remained silent through the whole thing.   
        "What about you, Derek? You got something to say?" Kate asks him. "He killed your sister. Now - either you're not telling me because, well, you want to kill him yourself, or for some reason, you're protecting him."   
        Derek just glares at her but she continues with her search. She looks over his jacket and wallet and pulls out his license. She smiles at it and shows it to us.   
        "Look at that sour face. I bet you always used to get people coming up to you saying, "Smile, Derek. Why don't you smile more?" Don't you just wanna kick those people in the face?"   
        "I can think of one." Derek answers. Kate smiles at that.   
        "Promise? Cause if I thought you'd be that much fun - I'd let you go." Kate taunts him. Derek just glares at her so she goes back to her snooping. She picks up his phone and starts to look through it. "All right, let's see. Nothing, nothing, nothing. God, I hate this detective crap."   
        "Are you gonna torture us- Or are you just gonna talk us to death, huh?" I ask her.   
        "Oh, sweetie, I don't wanna torture you." Kate says looking over to me. "Derek, maybe... but it's more like I wanna...I just wanna catch up."   
        Kate walks over to Derek and grins at him.   
        "Remember all the fun we had together?" she asks him. I notice her positioning was too close to him and I had to resist growling at her. Derek continues to glare at her.   
        "Like the time you burned my family alive?" Derek asks her.   
        "No, I was thinking more about the hot, crazy sex we had...but the fire thing. Yeah, that was fun too." Kate says nonchalantly. Derek couldn't resist himself anymore and he tries to attack her but the chains prevented him from doing so. Kate laughs at his face. "I love how much you hate me."   
        Kate then bends down dangerously close to him.  
        “Remember how this felt?” she asks as she licks his abs. I couldn’t resist any longer and I growl and hiss at her. Kate just laughs as she stands up.  
        “I think your girlfriends jealous.” Kate taunts as she walks always. “I really don't want to torture either of you…but he does.”  
        The door slides open and a tall pale bald man walks in cracking his knuckles. Everything about his appearance shouted trouble and I knew this wasn’t going to end well. Kate gives us one last smile before closing the door.  
        “So… who volunteers to go first?” he asks in a slight Italian tone. Before Derek could say anything, I answer.          
        “How about you?” I ask him as I looked him up and down. “Let me guess, you dressed yourself this morning. That must have been quite an accomplishment, old man. Are you sure you don’t need to sit down? Should I call your nurse to come back and lead you to bingo with all of the nice retiree’s?”  
        The old man laughs at that as he walks up to me. I could smell the Colombian cigars in his breath and see the gray in his eyes. Just one look at his face up close did I notice the creeping darkness that enveloped him so well. I knew that I was in big trouble but it didn’t stop me. It was all part of the plan.  
        “I’m not as old as you think,” he states before pulling a brass knuckles his fingers. “And I’m going to remind you of that all day long.”  
        “I’m counting on it…old man.”  
        The first punch came as expected and with the brass knuckle, the injury was much worse. He didn’t give me a chance to recover as he continued to punch me everywhere left and right. I felt the blood flow from my nose and mouth. Bruises appeared around my ribcage and chest. I look up at the man who’s smiling down triumphantly at me.  
        “Is that all you got?” I ask tauntingly. I spit the blood in my mouth at his feet. “My grandmother can hit better than that. Actually, that's insulting to my grandmother. Her punches are twice as strong from yours.”  
        He scowls at me and Derek tries to distract him from me but it doesn’t work. This man was not done with me yet. His knuckles crack once again and I close my eyes ready for the next hit.

***************

        Hours went by and the torturer finally left without getting a response from either of us. Derek had only received a couple of punches and was fine. Me on the other hand was still healing from the broken bones and bruises. Derek looks at me in concern.  
        “Why would you do that?” Derek asks me. “Taunt him enough for him to beat you senseless. Why?”  
        I gasp due to the possible punctured lung that made breathing hard for me. I weakly turn to look at him and give him an answer.  
        “Look at your injuries and then look at mine.” I tell him. He notices what I refer to but I keep going with my explanation. “Making him angry at me caused him to put his focus mainly on me. He hit harder and he got tired faster. Yes this hurts like a bitch but you’re still intact and that’s what matters. Besides I'm an Alpha so I'll heal faster.”  
        “But why?” Derek asks me.  
        “Is it so hard to imagine that I care about you, like, seriously I'm here because of you.” I state mindlessly. "It's all part of the plan anyway."   
        Derek was about to ask me explain further but the door slides open and Kate walks in with her phone pressed on her ear. I could hear the voicemail from Chris Argent so clearly.  
        “ _Hey. It is me. I'm getting tired of leaving messages. I wanna know where you are. Call me. Now._ ”  
        “Sounds like someone’s in trouble…” I mock but Kate just glares at me as she throws her phone aside.  
        “Oh sweetie, you don’t look so good.” Kate states pinching my cheak. I hiss at the pain from the bruise there and Kate lets go. “Unfortunately for both of you, if you're not gonna talk - I'm just gonna have to kill you.”  
        Kate walks over to the dial and lays her hand on it.  
        “Say hello to your sister for me, Derek.” Kate contemplates turning the dial but turns back to Derek. “You did tell her about me, didn't you? The truth about the fire?”  
        Derek looks away from Kate and when I try to capture his attention he ignores me.  
        “Did you tell anybody? Oh, sweetie - That's just a lot of guilt to keep buried. It's not all your fault.” Kate tells him.  
        “What is she talking about?” I ask Derek. Kate turns to me and shoots me a smile.  
        “You two haven’t had the ex talk yet?” Kate asks me. “Well let me tell you what happened. Derek here got tricked by a pretty face. It happens! Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super, hot girl who comes from a family that kills the werewolves.”  
        I look away as I hear this knowing the irony in her words. I've used this tactic before and I should have known Kate used it too. I just never expected Derek to have fallen for the same trap.  
        “Is that ironic? Is it ironic that you're inadvertently helping me track down the rest of the pack - again? Or just a little bit of history repeating?” Kate asks Derek. I turn to look at him to find his gaze still down. I could smell the guilt consuming him and I wish I could go comfort him. Kate walks over to the dial but stops. “ _History repeating_.”  
        I look up at her when she repeats the phrase and I knew she was putting the pieces together. Derek realizes this too and Kate starts to pace in thought again.  
        “It's not Jackson, is it? Oh, no, no, no, he's got a little scratch on the back of his neck, but - he's not in love with Allison.” Kate stops and turns to us. “Not like Scott.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I added a bit of her huntress past which miraculously no one knows about yet. I also added a cute little moment between her and Derek where she actually admits her feeling. What! Anyways I hope you enjoy this update and keep on kudoing (?) it.


	22. The End of a Beginning

        I wake up and everything was hurting. It took a lot of energy to even open my eyes. I forgot where I even was until I saw Derek chained up and I remembered all of the past memories. My mouth was dry and I had a good guess why.   
        "What happened to me?" I whisper at him.   
        "You tried to attack Kate again. Especially since she found out about Scott. She turned the dial to the maximum. I'm surprised you're not dead." Derek answers.   
        "Well I'm sorry to disappoint." I reply. I groan as I tried to stretch my stiff muscles. "This sucks..."   
        "This whole situation sucks. How come you're realizing this now?" Derek asks sarcastically.   
        "I mean. I'm completely sore and I haven't had time to heal since I've been knocked out for who knows how long and when we do get out of here, I won't be able to walk out on my own." I answer. I look at Derek tiredly and give him the honest answer that he wasn't going to like. "Once we get an opening, you're going to have to leave me behind. I'll only slow you down."     
        "I'm not leaving you."   
        "You won't have a choice." I growl back. "I will scream bloody murder if you try to get me out of here. Save yourself, ok? You can worry about me later."   
        Derek didn't say anything after that. I took that as an acceptance to my plan and let the subject go. I tiredly laid my head back to the metal fence. Everything hurt and it was hard to stay awake. I'm pretty sure I had a pretty bad concussion and with no food and water, it was going to take even longer to heal. I tried to stay awake but it was getting harder and harder to do that.  
        "Diana, stay awake." I heard Derek say but he sounded farther and farther away as he called my name. "Diana, stay with me. Stay awake."  
        "It's hard..." I whisper back. "It's so hard."  
        My vision was blurring and my body seemed to ache more with the exhaustion. I knew I couldn't keep this up for much long.   
        A howl.   
        That was all I needed to open my eyes again. I painfully look up at Derek who looked at me with the same kind of hope I had.   
        "Scott." I whisper. "That smart pup."   
        "We need to howl back," Derek states. "We need to howl so he can locate us."   
        "I can't," I whispered tiredly. "My wolf...she's to hurt."   
        "Then I'll howl. I'm going to get us out of here." Derek replies back. His eyes turn blue and his face lifts up. Derek lets out a loud howl that made my eyes turn red momentarily. I smile at him before dropping my head in exhaustion.  
        "Screw your plan, Diana. I'm going to get you out of here whether you like it or not." Derek tells me. "You're too weak to fight me otherwise."   
        "Derek..." I whisper trying to sound angry but it was useless. My voice was too weak to display that kind of emotion.   
        "I care about you more than I should." Derek states. "And when we get out of here, I'm taking you home. I'm going to be the one taking care of your wounds and making sure you're ok. All-night surveillance too."   
        "Well don't you know how to flatter a girl." I reply with a smile. "That sounds really nice, Derek. Home."   
        "I'm taking you home." Derek repeats.   
        I close my eyes liking the sound of home coming out of his mouth. It might have been my dazed state that made me feel so emotional but I didn't care. I could be dying soon so hell with my unemotional personality. I deserved some happiness in my last hour.  
        I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Scott sneakin in. It wasn't until he pushed the hair out of my face that I took in that he was actually here.   
        "Scott?" I ask skeptically. "Scott, you're actually here."   
        "You need to hurry up. They'll be back soon." Derek yells at him.   
        "Let me unchain her first." Scott exclaims back.  
        "No, no... Derek first." I tell him. "I'm too weak to stand on my own."   
        Scott was hesitant but I nudge him again and he does what he's told. He managed to uncuff one of Derek's restraints before we heard the gate opening signaling the hunters were back. Scott quickly goes into hiding and the door slides open to reveal the old torturer. He turns the light and aims it towards us. I squint at the blinding light and groan at the new rise of pain.   
        "Ready to have some more fun? To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So I brought some help." he says holding up a bat. "But I need to warn ya. I used to play in college."  
        "Oh really?" I ask in a strong whisper. "You may play hard ball but I'm still way out of your league,  _old man."_  
        The torturer raises the bat to strike at me but is stopped by Derek grabbing onto it from his free hand.   
        "I brought a little help too." Derek states. The torturer turns around to find Scott blocking the exit which gives Derek the opportunity to knock him out with one punch. I sigh in relief seeing him out of the way. Scott approaches us and Derek rips out the electric patch from his side. He turns to me and back to Scott.   
        "Scott, help me with this." Derek says gesturing to his other cuffed hand.  
        "No." Scott replies.  
        "What?" Derek asks surprised. "Diana needs medical help. Get me out of this."  
        "I'll get her out but not until you tell me how to stop Peter." Scott tells him.  
        "You really wanna talk about this right now? She's dying."  
        "I'm doing fine, thanks." I whisper at them but am ignored.   
        "Peter's going after Allison and her family. He's going to kill them."  
        "So what?" Derek asks him uncaring.  
        "So tell me how to stop him." Scott replies.  
        "You can't! All right? Now - I don't know when Kate's coming back, so just get me out of this right now! Get me out right now!"  
        Scott ignores him and walks over to me. He then breaks both of my cuffs and I fall on him. Luckily he was ready for that and manages to barely hold me up. I clutch to him knowing that he was the only reason I was upright right now. I look up at Derek who was glaring at Scott and looking at me with concern.  
        "Promise you'll help me." Scott tells Derek.  
        "You want me to risk my life for your girlfriend? For your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott. You're 16 years old. You're a child." Derek exclaims.  
        "Maybe you're right. But I know something you don't. Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right? He lied. Remember this?" Scott says pulling out the picture of the dead deer with a spiral on it's side.   
        "What does that have to do with anything?" I ask him.  
        "This is what brought Laura back to Beacon Hills." Scott answers.  
        "Where did you get that?" Derek asks him.  
        "My boss told me three months ago someone came into the clinic asking for a copy of this picture. Do you wanna know who it was?" Scott asks him. "Peter's nurse. They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the Alpha, and that's why you're going to help me. Just say you'll help me, and I'll help you unlock your other..."  
        I hear the shattering of metal and look up to find Derek free from the last cuff. He rubs his wrist and looks up at us.   
        "I'll help you."

****************

        Derek quickly walked over to me and took me out of Scott's arms. He set me down on the table and placed my jacket on. I grabbed my shotgun and it's holder and swung it on my shoulder. I tried to stand up again but my legs were still too shaky. Derek quickly grabs a hold of my waist and holds me steady.  
        "I guess that shock therapy took a very big toll on me." I tell him.   
        "That and the torture." Derek states. "Obviously you're not going to be walking out of here."   
        "You noticed that now?" I ask him sarcastically. Derek just rolls his eyes at me. Scott just huffs annoyed at us.   
        "Can you stop flirting for a second and focus back on killing the Alpha?" Scott asks us. Derek went back to his stoic face and quickly sweeps me off my feet. I gasp in surprise which causes him to smile a bit before facing Scott and leading us out. The tunnels seemed to go on forever and we finally reach the gate that led to the front yard of the Hale house.   
        "Hey. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Something doesn't feel right." Derek states as we make it out. He stops walking as he surveys the perimeter.  
        "What do you mean?" I ask him.  
        "I don't know. It's - it's kind of like it's..." Derek starts to say but Scott stops him.  
        "No, don't say "too easy." People say "too easy" and bad things happen." Scott exclaims. "What, do you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? None of this has been easy."  
        "Fine. You're right." Derek growls out.  
        "Please tell me we're going home." I whisper at him. Derek nods and kisses the top of my head. I smile at the act and let myself relax. We were almost out of here but like Scott said, nothing good comes easy.  
        An arrow hits Derek in the shoulder and he falls to the ground by the impact. He took me down with him and we both lose the air in our lungs as our backs hit the rocky forest ground. I roll over and look up to find Kate and Allison staring us down. Allison had a bow and arrow in her hands and was aiming at us again. The next arrow came as quick as the first and lands on my leg. I cry out and grasp my leg. I throw my head back and turn to Derek.   
        " _Flash bolt._ " Kate instructs Allison. Derek, through his pain, rolls on top of me and looks up at Scott.   
        "Scott, your eyes!" he shouts but it was too late. Allison shoots the arrow and even through my covered eyes, the light shone bright.  
        "Let's go!" Derek says standing up. I help him pull out the arrow from his shoulder as he pulls out the arrow from my leg. He pulls me up again and we start to stumble away. Derek grabs Scott's shoulder and starts to pull him after us. Derek couldn't handle my weight and Scott's so we soon fall back down to the ground.  
        "Scott, go!" I shout at him. Scott tries to crawl back but he was clearly still blinded.  
        "Allison, I can explain." he pleads as Allison makes his way towards him.  
        "Stop lying. For once stop lying."  
        "I was gonna tell you the truth at the formal. I was gonna tell you everything. Because everything that I said, everything that I did..." Scott starts to say before being interrupted.  
        "Was to protect me." Allison finishes annoyed.  
        "Yes." Scott replies honestly.   
        "I don't believe you." Allison tells him.  
        "Thank God. Now, shoot him before I have to shoot myself." Kate says finally walking up to us.  
        "You - you said we were just gonna catch them?" Allison asks confused. God, this girl was being played so easily I didn't know whether to laugh at her or pity her.  
        "We did that. Now we're gonna kill them." Kate states. She points her gun at Derek and shoots. I gasp in horror before she turns her gun at me and shoots me as well. I drop once again not being able to handle all of the pain. It was too much. I could feel myself starting to shift and my bones breaking and moving into place. I wanted to scream and cry from the pain but I wasted all of those things out when I was being tortured for the past day.  
         _"_ _I did what I was told to do."_ Kate states.  
        " _No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house, ones who were human. Look what you're doing now. You're holding a gun at a 16 year-old boy with no proof he spilled human blood. We go by the code - Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent._ "  
        " _We hunt those who hunt us._ "  
        I clawed the dirt and shook off my jacket. The bullet that was in my chest is forced out by my shift and I hiss in pain. Claws replace my nails. Fangs replace my teeth. My brown eyes are replaced by red ones. The creaking of the door quickens my transition as I realize who just joined the party.  
        " _What is it?_ " I hear Allison ask.   
        " _It's the Alpha._ " Scott answers.   
        The Alpha runs around them causing them to turn around in attempts to find him. One by one, the Alpha brought them down. First it was Chris, then Allison, then Scott, before finally revealing himself to Kate. I shook as my vision turned red and saw distantly how Peter managed to unarm Kate and break her arm. He then throws her onto the porch and drags her in. Allison runs in and I force myself to slowly follow after her. I crawl towards the house as I shifted into four paws.  
        "I'm going to give you a chance to save her, Kate." I hear Peter say. "Apologize. Say that you're sorry for decimating my family, for leaving me burned and broken for six years. Say it - And I'll let her live."  
        "I'm sorry." Kate whispers.  
        "I don't know about you, Allison, but that apology - didn't sound very sincere." Peter replies. He then uses the nail that was clutching her neck tightly and digs through her throat. Blood splatters everywhere and Kate's body drops dead. Peter starts walking towards Allison and I quickly growl in full transformation. Scott and Derek then appear beside me.  
        "Run!" Scott yells at her. Allison doesn't hesitate and runs out. Peter glares at all of us. Derek and Scott run towards him but Peter easily pushes them away. Using this distraction, I run towards him and pounce. I try to take a bite out of his face or throat or anything but Peter quickly held me off. He manages to push me off of him and stand up.   
        Derek swings at him but Peter blocks his punches and manages to send him flying back into the wall. Scott tries to attack him from behind but it was no use. Peter was starting to shift with every continuation of the fight. Derek didn't seem to be getting up soon but Scott recovered quickly and managed to get some swings on him. I took a long start and pounced on him again, clawing and biting whatever I could. He throws me off again and couldn't contain it any longer. He started to shift fully now and the sight of it was terrifying.  
        All of his clothes tore under the beast that he was becoming. Aspects of him looked like a wolf but the other was something completely different, something horrific. He wasn't partially a wolf like Scott and Derek. He wasn't a complete wolf like me. He was something in between wolf and monster.  
        The Alpha breaks through the window out of the house and heads outside. Scott and I follow after him but we were caught off guard. The Alpha grabs Scott once he got out and chokes him by pulling him up in the air. I growl at the Alpha distracting him for a split second that allowed Scott to kick himself out of his hold. The Alpha is sent flying and hits the porch of the Hale house.  
        The honking of a nearby car distracts all of us and I look up to find Stiles and Jackson stepping out of the porsh. Stiles throws a Molotov Cocktail towards the Alpha but he easily catches it. I catch sight of the bow and arrow that were laying on the ground and quickly shift back to my human state.  
        I was still recovering from all of my injuries but managed to grasp the bow and raise it up. It has been a while since I've used one of these but natural talent never goes away. I let go off the arrow and it flies toward the glass container. It breaks and flames erupt all over the Alpha. Jackson throws another cocktail and more flames cover the beast.    
        The Alpha howls in pain as the flames continued to burn. I shiver from the cold and the aching in my bones. Stiles quickly runs over to me and covers me with the coat I had left behind. I smile gratefully at him as he helped me up. The Alpha finally falls to the ground and the flames died down. Peter was now all I saw and his skin was all burnt.   
        It was all over.   
        It was all finally over.   
        I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry out of joy. I was finally done with this supernatural bullshit. I could finally claim this territory as my own. I was the only Alpha in Beacon Hills.  
        I slowly walk over and recline on a tree. I was making my way to Peter but I was still to weak and tired to get there in one go. I look up to find Derek finally recovered from the attack. He was also making his way to Peter but it didn't occur to my mind to ask why he was doing that.   
        "Wait! You said the cure comes from the one who bit you." Scott yells out at Derek who now stood over Peter's barely breathing body. "Derek, If you do this, I'm dead. Her father, her family - what am I supposed to do?"  
        I had forgotten that Scott believed that killing the Alpha would restore him back to his normal self. I wanted to tell him how wrong he was but I was concerned about Derek killing the Alpha and what that meant for me.  
        "Derek," I call out. He flinches as I say his name and I grew worried to his ignorance. "Derek, if you kill him.  _I'm dead._ Beacon Hills is all I have. You can't take this place away from me."   
        "You've - already - decided. I can smell it on you!" Peter gasps out.  
        "Wait! No, no! Don't!" Scott and I yell out as Derek raises his claw hand but we were too late. His hands come down like lightning and blood is once again spilled. I gasp in horror and shake in fear for what this meant. Derek stands up and turns to all of us.  
        "I'm the Alpha now."   
        I shake in my spot and before anyone could stop me, I shift back to my wolf. I run out as fast I could and left everything behind. I let out a howl which I knew everyone could hear. This time it didn't mean I was alone, it meant that I was betrayed and hurt. My paws thump in the forest ground and as much as I wanted to enjoy the rush of running I couldn't. Derek would be after me soon and I needed to put as much space as I could between us.   
        I did what I was best at.  
        I ran.   
        

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this isn't the end. I'll update with Season 2 soon.


	23. Alpha, Beta, Omega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 2 of Teen Wolf as promised. Things are about to get real. More of Diana's past will be revealed. Relationships will grow and fade. And will love be able to conquer all or will it destroy them in the end? 
> 
> Read to figure out!

        I adjusted my scarf for the hundredth time as I walked down the sick infested halls of the hospital. My throat itched and I had to restrain myself from scratching it. I resorted to nervously picking at the scarf around my neck to distract me of what was under. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes trying to ignore what happened two days ago.   
         _I ran so fast and soon my cabin came into view. I quickly make my way into my backyard and grab the robe from it's hook. I shift back to my human form and rush inside. I grabbed the to-go duffel bag under my bed and started to throw all of my clothes in there. That was all I needed since the duffle was already packed with a new secret identity, weaponry, cash, and food._  
        My eyes snap open as I bump into a nurse. I apologize quickly and continue walking. The clicking of my heels echoed in my ears and I paranoidly looked at every person in the hallway expecting to see strange looks from them for a reason I only knew.   
         _I step into the hallway ready to make my escape outside. I was in such a rush that I hadn't foreseen the oncoming attack. I gasp as my back meets the wall and I grow even more afraid as I look up to find Derek staring down at me with red eyes. Actually fear didn't cover what I felt when I saw him. I was angry. I was in a rage. I wanted to rip his face out with my teeth, let him heal, and then do it all over again. I drop the bag as my claws grew in place._  
        I push myself into the bathroom feeling the loss of air.  
        _"Let me go._ _" I growl out._  
        I look into the mirror to find my eyes turning red.  
         _"Diana..." Derek says sternly._  
        My nails were turning into claws and I could feel a growl wanting to escape from my throat.  
        _"Let me the fuck go, Hale._ _"_  
        _"Diana, I need you to hear me out." Derek demands. His red eyes made the order even more harder to ignore._  
         _"Just kill me already! Get it over with. I know that's why you're here." I cry out. I shove him but he didn't even budge. "God, I trusted you! I freaking stuck my neck out for you just so you could stab me in the back! I needed Beacon Hills, Derek. You knew that and you took that away from me!"_  
        The sound of the toilet flushing made me shift back to my human state. I quickly turned on the sink and washed my face trying to cool myself down from the replay of that memory.  
        "Are you ok?" the woman beside me asks.  
        "Yeah, I'm fine." I answer as I grab paper towels and dry my face. I turn to the woman and offer her a smile. "It's just stress, really."   
        "Well, I hope everything turns out for the best."   
        My smile falters but doesn't fade as I hear that.   
        "Yeah, I hope so too." I say not realizing that she had already left. I sigh and stare at my reflection once again. I see the white bandage sticking out so I adjusted my scarf again before heading out to the hallway.  
         _"I'm sorry, Diana. I really am." Derek apologizes._  
        _"Take your apology and stick it up your ass, Hale. You screwed me over so if you're not going to kill me then I'm going to take my stuff and leave."_  
         _"You're not going to try to challenge Beacon Hills from me?" Derek asks still refusing to let me go._  
         _"I don't want to kill you." I answer honestly. "Even though I'm so pissed at you. I don't want to kill you."_  
         _"Good to know because I have a proposition for you."_  
        I clear my throat as I make my way to the reception desk. I smile at the nurse in charge and wait for her to get out of her phone call. Once she's done, she offers me a smile in which I return.   
        "Hi, what can I help you with?"   
        "I'm here to see a Lydia Martin." I answer.   
        "She's in room 125 which is down this hall and to a right." The nurse answers me. "But we're not allowing anyone in. She's the only survivor in some of these animal attacks so reporters have been trying to sneak in."  
        "I'm not a reporter." I state.   
        "I know. You look familiar to me so I have to ask what's your relationship with Lydia Martin?"   
        "I'm Diana Ross, the nurse at Beacon Hills. I know Lydia by teacher and student gossip. I just wanted to check in on her. Make sure she's alright."   
        "You must be the Diana my son talks so highly about." the nurse says as her smile grows bigger. She then offers me her hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Melissa McCall."   
        "You're Scott's mom?" I ask.   
        "The one and only."   
        "Well Scott's a great kid really. Reminds me of myself when I was younger. A really good kid." I state which causes her to smile more. Her eyes then narrow down and I grow worried.   
        "Wait a minute. Wasn't it you and Stiles that hit my date's car?" she asks.   
        I completely forgot about that. Of course I couldn't just say that Peter was actually a psychotic werewolf killer and that I did it to protect her. So I did the second best thing I'm good at, I lied.   
        "I know Stiles but I don't recall ever getting in a car with him. From what Scott's told me, Stiles is a horrible driver."   
        Melissa narrows her eyes at me again but brushes away any suspicion she had before. I mentally sighed out of relief.   
        "So, do you think I could go wish Lydia good health?" I ask Melissa. She sighs unsure. "It'll only take a second, I promise."   
        "Yeah, I guess. I was headed that way so I'll lead you." Melissa then walks around her desk and I start to follow after her. She greets her fellow coworkers and I nervously adjust my scarf again. "I didn't get to tell you but I love your scarf."   
        "Thank you," I say as I stop tugging it. Melissa opens her mouth to say something but a scream pierces through the air.  
        "What the hell was that?" Melissa exclaims.  
        It was no coincidence that the scream came from the same room I was headed into. Melissa and I sprint towards the door and open it. Lydia's father was just a step behind us and Stiles pushes his way through all of us easily. The room was empty and when we searched the bathroom it was empty too. Melissa shuts off the shower that was still running and we all look around confused. My attention turns to the open window and I heard her scream loud and clear again. Her location was unknown to me. 

************

        The police were called and I grew even more angsty with the rise of people in the hospital. This just had to happen when I decided to check in on the possible she-wolf. I should have left town when I had the chance. How did I let myself be convinced to stay here? Oh right, green eyes, sharp jaw, body built like a God...I am so going to beat him up the next time I see him. _If_  I decide to see him again.   
        Sheriff Stilinski walks in with Melissa and Mr. Martin beside him. I make my way towards them wanting to overhear the information they were giving.   
        "Naked? As in nude?" Sheriff asks them.  
        "I'm pretty sure they mean the same thing, but, yes, as far as we know, she left here clothing-optional." Melissa answers.  
        "All right, you checked the whole hospital, right?"  
        "Every last corner." she answers.   
        "Nothing suspicious?" Sheriff asks.  
        "Nothing. She just took off." Melissa answers and Mr. Martin nods agreeing.  
        "All right, let's get an APB out on a 16-year-old redhead. Any other descriptors?" Sheriff asks Mr. Martin. Instead Stiles barges in with his own answers.  
        "5'3", green eyes, fair-skinned, and her hair is actually strawberry blonde."  
        "Is that right?" Sheriff asks displeased.  
        "Yeah," Stiles answers not realizing his sarcasm. Sheriff pulls Stiles away and has a brief conversation with him. Seeing this and Melissa and Mr. Martin waiting for the Sheriff to get back with them, I decide to sneak into Lydia's room again. I sniff out her bed and her hospital robe before leaving. On my way out I bump into Stiles which was a reunion I was hoping to avoid.   
        "Diana?" he asks. "What are you doing here?"   
        "I need to go Stiles." I say trying to walk past him but he blocks me from going anywhere. I glare at him but he was holding his own ground which slightly made me proud of him.   
        "No, you're not going anywhere. You've been MIA since Peter's death and Derek backstabbing you in the back." I grit my teeth at the mention of his name. "Scott and I thought you left. You haven't been answering our calls and your house was empty. There's also the whole thing about two Alpha's in the same territory and bloodshed..."   
        "Yeah I know, Stiles. Can I go now?" I ask referring to him still blocking my way.   
        "Are you ever going to talk to us?" Stiles asks me upset. "We're not the ones who betrayed you."   
        "No, you're not." I answer honestly. "But I betrayed you so it's me who has to stay out of your way."   
        Stiles was confused to what I said which gave me the chance to push past him and walk out of the hospital. I saw Stiles' Jeep parked and Scott waiting inside it. Luckily he was looking at his phone and I was able to slip away unnoticed. With Lydia's scent still in my wolf's memory I started to make the trek into the forest. 

*************

        I sniff out the air and scoff as I saw the Hale house come into view. You have got to be kidding me. This universe must hate me if all of the leads led here. I was ready to go back home when I caught scent of Scott, Stiles, and Allison making their way here. I really needed to train Scott into hiding his scent but I pushed that thought away as I remembered that I couldn't be near him now. Not since that night.   
        I make my way home which was a place I hadn't been to in the past few days. I could smell the memory etched in the hallway forever. If only I could wash away the scent with bleach. If only.   
        I turn on all of the lights and find my duffel bag still abandoned in the hallway. I kick it under the table that I had there and make my way into the dining room. Lying on the table was the envelope that held custody papers. I had yet to sign them and turn in. I had also yet to tell Isaac the good news but with everything that was going on how could I?   
        I read over the documents and signed and initialed everything I had to. Tomorrow morning I'll drop by the station and turn these in. Then I'll go to work and try to avoid the two teenagers who seem to like having me around. For someone who didn't like getting close to people I managed to do that here in less than two months. I shook my head at myself and unravelled the scarf from my neck. I placed a hand on my bandage and sighed.  
         _"Why hasn't this healed yet?" I ask pointing at the scar on my neck. Deaton just gave me a concerned look and I knew his next response wasn't going to be good._  
         _"That wound will never heal, Diana. It's permanent until death."_  
        After hearing that, I stayed at his guest room for two days refusing to eat or move out of place. It wasn't until he told me about Lydia's possibility of being a werewolf that got me out of bed and into detective mode.   
        I left my dining room and made it into my bedroom. My jacket and phone were laid on the bed which left me to believe that Derek was nice enough to retrieve those and return them to me. I turn on my phone which surprisingly wasn't battery dead and saw the thousands of missed calls and texts from Scott, Stiles, and Derek.   
        I ignore all of them and turn off my phone. I throw myself on my bed tired already from the night's events and the stress of the upcoming day. 

***************

        I make my way through the cemetery and locate Isaac and the Sheriff pretty quickly. I walk faster and cling to my scarf holding it in it's position. Isaac's father was with them too and I had to shush my wolf from turning.   
        "Good morning Sheriff," I greet as I walk into his interrogation.   
        "Mornin' Diana, what are you doing here?" he asks me.   
        "I stopped by the station to turn in some paperwork but they told me you were here." I answer. I take out the thick envelope and hand it to him. "So what happened here, Sheriff? Was there an attack?"   
        "I was just about to find that out." Sheriff tells me. He then turns to Isaac and I notice the purple bruising around his eye. "Name please."   
        "It's Lahey. Isaac Lahey."  
        "Can she be here for this?" Mr. Lahey asks annoyed as he points to me.   
        "It's nice seeing you again, Mr. Lahey." I say offering him a smile. I then turn to Sheriff Stilinski. "And I sometimes offer my expertise to the Sheriff here so I doubt he'll mind me staying."   
        Mr. Lahey grunts at this but Sheriff doesn't pay him any attention and continues with his interrogation.   
        "You work for your father, Isaac?" Sheriff asks him.  
        "When he's not in school. Which is where he needs to be in 20 minutes." Mr. Lahey answers for him.  
        "Yeah, I understand that. But I've got a missing teenage girl, and our k-9 unit led us here. She's not wearing any clothes, and if she's out here tonight, and the temperature really drops..." Sheriff starts to say before Isaac interrupts him.  
        "I'm sorry, I... I didn't see anything."  
        "Trust me, if he saw a naked girl outside a computer screen, he'd remember." Mr. Lahey remarks. I wanted to growl at his rude response but instead found another way to get him back.  
        "Isaac, how'd you get that black eye?" I ask as I point to his eye. I turn to Mr. Lahey who seems to stiffen at my question. Isaac seeing his father nearby and the Sheriff lies.  
        "School."  
        "School fight?" Sheriff asks skeptically as he glances at Mr. Lahey.  
        "Nah, lacrosse." Isaac answers.  
        "Lacrosse? You play for Beacon Hills?" Sheriff asks.  
        "Yeah." Isaac mutters.  
        "My son plays for the team. Well, I mean, he...he's on the team. He doesn't typically play. Not yet, anyway." Sheriff mumbles. I notice Isaac's attention stray away and I turn to find Derek staring at us far off into the woods. I look back at Isaac and noticed that he recognized him which caused me to be worried.  
        "It's, uh - Something wrong, Isaac?" I ask snapping his attention back into the conversation.  
        "No. Oh, no, sorry. I was just remembering, I actually have a morning practice to get to." Isaac answers.  
        "Well if that's the case, I can give you a ride." I offer. Isaac nods and I received a glare from Mr. Lahey but before we could leave, Sheriff stops us.   
        "Just one more question. You guys get many grave robberies here?" he asks.  
        "A few. Usually, they just take stuff like jewelry." Isaac answers.  
        "What'd this one take?" Sheriff asks.  
        "Her liver." 

**************

        The drive to school was short but it was enough time to have a conversation with Isaac. He admitted that his father had hit him once again for not putting his lacrosse gear away. I lent him my sunglasses so he could cover up the black eye for the rest of the day. I also used this time to tell him that sometime soon he should be able to move in with me for a time being seeing that Mr. Lahey's case was being made as we speak. There was proof now that supported our case against him and the Sheriff had seen it.   
        "So what do you think kiddo?" I ask him. He seemed to be relaxed in my seat as I told him this. "In a few weeks you'll be out of there and into my cabin in the woods."   
        "I can't wait." he says smiling.   
        I turn back to the road glad that this day was starting off somewhat nice until my next question caused him to lie to me for the first time in forever.   
        "How do you know Derek Hale?" I ask him.   
        Isaac stiffens in his seat and I take notice of that.   
        "I don't know what you're talking about."   
        "Yes, you do." I say back as I turn to him. "He was in the woods right now and he was staring at you."  
        "I barely met the guy." Isaac mutters. "What would he want with me?"   
        "I was hoping you could tell me that." I answer. I had an idea to Derek's interest in him but I wanted Isaac to tell me.   
        "I don't know what to tell you," Isaac answers honestly. I heard his heartbeat go faster and could smell the sweat coming out of his pores for his next response. "We only had a short conversation. I fell into a grave I was digging and Derek helped me out of it. That's it."  
        "Hmm." I hum as I park the car and turn it off. "That was it?"   
        "I don't know what else to tell you." Isaac answers.   
        "Ok, if that's the truth." I state knowing very well it was a lie. I didn't want to push it because then it would destroy whatever trust he had in me. "You should get to practice. I'll be there in a couple of minutes."   
        Isaac grabs his stuff and jogs to the locker room. I watch him go and sigh. I couldn't have Derek making betas. Especially with the Argents being unusually quiet about the whole Kate/Peter fiasco. They all blamed Kate for the murders and Peter's body was buried somewhere to hide his involvement in anything. Now that drama seems to be Derek wanting to turn people into his betas and Lydia possibly running around the woods eating people's livers.  
        I sigh at all of these thoughts and looked at the mirror again and [adjusted the scarf](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=185949107) once again and put down my hair for more coverage. I grabbed my bag and made my way to the school. I saw a homeless man digging through the trash and I quickly took out the sandwich I had planned for lunch and offer it to him.   
        "Here," I say handing it to him.   
        "No, that's yours." he answers not even looking me in the eye.   
        "Just take it. I'll buy something for lunch." I tell him. He takes it this time but still didn't look me in the eye. I could hear him sniffing the air and back away from me. "Are you ok?"   
        "Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to go." the homeless man looks up this time and I saw the yellow glint in his eyes. My eyes instantly turn red and before I could get another word out he runs out of the school parking lot. I chase after him but I couldn't find him anywhere. I give up my search hoping that the new werewolf would move away from Beacon Hills since we were already in trouble as it is. I make my way to the boy's locker room and stand beside Coach Finstock as he starts his announcement.   
        "Let's go! I have an announcement. Gather round. Quicker! Let's go, gather round." Coach yells out. I catch sight of Stiles and Scott but ignore their questioning looks and turn back to Coach. "Listen up. Police are asking for help on a missing child advisory. It's a sick girl, roaming around, totally naked."  
        All of the guys laugh and I glare at them to shut up which luckily they did. Coach continues with his announcement once everyone settled down.  
        "Now, it's supposed to get below 40 degrees tonight. I don't know about you, but the last time it was that cold and I was running around naked I lost a testicle to exposure. Now, I don't want the same thing happening to some innocent girl. So police are organizing search parties for tonight. Sign up, find the missing girl, you get an automatic 'A' in my classes."   
        Coach then tapes a sign-up sheet on the wall and guys line up to volunteer. I was ready to slip out of the locker room when Scott and Stiles managed to drag me into a corner. Stiles was on lookout duty as Scott pinned me on the wall and started his rant.   
        "I've been calling you for days now and then you show out of the blue and ignore us. Lydia is running around possibly on the verge of killing someone and you've been doing nothing about it. And by the way thanks for telling me that the whole 'killing the one who bit you will cure you' was fake. But Derek totally backstabbed us in the end so I forgive you. Now are you going to help me find Lydia or are you going to hide out for another few days?"   
        "I searched for her ok and it led me the same place it led you, the Hale house." I answer. Scott looks at me confused and I continued. "I got there before you did and when I heard you coming, I left."   
        "You couldn't have told me that?" Scott asks.  
        "I could have but I didn't want to. I'm staying out of your way Scott. Believe me, you want me to."   
        "What does that mean?" Stiles asks me. "You told me the same thing yesterday."   
        I was about to give them a vague answer but Scott starts to sniff the air and recoils from me in disgust.   
        "Why do you smell like that?" Scott asks me letting me go. I look away from him and fix my scarf and hair. Scott steps closer to me and tries to smell me again but I push him away.   
        "Stop that!"   
        "No, you smell sour...and a lot like Derek. Why do you smell like Derek?" Scott asks.   
        "Are you seriously asking that dude?" Stiles asks him. "They probably you know..."   
        "No we did not! Don't ever mention his name to me ever again." I growl out. Scott wasn't happy with my response and sniffs me again. I try to shove him away but Scott was determined and with one quick move he shoved my scarf down and revealed the large bandaid.   
        "What the...?" Scott asks. I try to cover it up again but Scott stopped me and removed the bandaid. On my neck was the scar of a bite mark that would never fade away. "Did he do this to you? Did Derek hurt you? I'm going to kill him! I am going to..."   
        "Scott, stop!" I yell at him. "Just stop! It's my problem. I'll deal with it."   
        "He bit you! That jerk bit you!" Scott exclaims.   
        "Yeah, he did but you don't understand," I reply looking at both teenage boys who were looking at me if I was crazy. "It's the only way I could stay in Beacon Hills without wanting to start an Alpha war against Derek."  
        "That doesn't make any sense," Scott states.   
        I look around the locker room and noticed it was empty. I knew we were all late to practice but I didn't care. They needed to know what happened and why I was unreachable for the past few days.   
        "Do you trust me?" I ask Scott. He nods really quickly. I sigh as I extend my claws and reach for his neck. My claws dig into his skin and reaches his spinal cord. I close my eyes and show him the memory that has been on replay for me these past few days.   
         _I ran so fast and soon my cabin came into view. I quickly make my way into my backyard and grab the robe from it's hook. I shift back to my human form and rush inside. I grabbed the to-go duffel bag under my bed and started to throw all of my clothes in there. That was all I needed since the duffle was already packed with a new secret identity, weaponry, cash, and food._  
         _I step into the hallway ready to make my escape outside. I was in such a rush that I hadn't foreseen the oncoming attack. I gasp as my back meets the wall and I grow even more afraid as I look up to find Derek staring down at me with red eyes. Actually fear didn't cover what I felt when I saw him. I was angry. I was in a rage. I wanted to rip his face out with my teeth, let him heal, and then do it again. I drop the bag as my claws grew in it's place._  
         _"Let me go." I growl out._  
         _"Diana..." Derek says sternly._  
         _"Let me the fuck go, Hale."_  
         _"Diana, I need you to hear me out." Derek demands. His red eyes made the order even more harder to ignore._  
         _"Just kill me already! Get it over with. I know that's why you're here." I cry out. I shove him but he didn't even budge. "God, I trusted you! I freaking stuck my neck out for you just so you could stab me in the back! I needed Beacon Hills, Derek. You knew that and you took that away from me!"_  
         _"I had to, Diana. I just had to." Derek states._  
         _"Take your apology and stick it up your ass, Hale. You screwed me over so if you're not going to kill me then I'm going to take my stuff and leave."_  
         _"You're not going to try to challenge Beacon Hills from me?" Derek asks still refusing to let me go._  
         _"I don't want to kill you." I answer honestly. "Even though I'm so pissed and upset at you. I don't want to kill you.”_  
         _“Good to know because I have a proposition for you.”_  
        _Derek's grip on me loosens but didn't go away. I stared at him breathing heavily and I didn't know if it was anger or fear that I felt now. I knew whatever he was going to say next was going to change everything. I could smell the excitement he wore even though his face was void of any emotion._  
         _"The Argents now know about you and I remember you telling me you have your own personal hunters after you. I also know you refuse to create a pack of your own even though they would protect you and make you stronger. But mainly, Beacon Hills is all you have and I know you don't want to leave." Derek tells me. I nod to confirm all of that and he continues. "What if I told you that you could have protection, a pack, and you can keep your home?"_  
         _"I would ask you what's the price? Because nothing ever comes free now does it?"_  
         _Derek smiles at that and I narrow my stare at him waiting for him to respond._  
         _"You're right but the price isn't that bad. Just one bite, right here..." he says motioning to my neck._  
         _"What will the bite do?" I ask him. "I know to a regular person a bite would turn them into a werewolf but an Alpha biting another Alpha... what does it do?"_  
         _"It gives you everything you wanted." Derek answers. "What's mine is yours. What's yours is mine. My enemies are your enemies and your enemies are my enemies. Whatever pack I create will be yours to command as well. And Beacon Hills will not just be mine but yours too."_  
         _"That sounds too good to be true..." I reply. "There has to be a catch."_  
         _Derek nods and easily lifts me up and sets me down on the decorative table in my hallway. He parts my hair aside and pulls the robe off my shoulder. His nose trails down my cheek, past my ear, and down to my neck. I shiver as I felt his hot breath over my neck and I could feel Derek smile._  
         _"The catch is you'll be my Mate and no one could ever have you except me."_  
        Scott stumbles back and I had to fight the tears that were rising to my eyes. Stiles was confused to the whole thing but I wasn't going to offer him an explanation. I just wanted to forget that this whole thing ever happened but Scott wasn't ready to let me forget.   
        "Did he force the bite on you?" Scott asks angrily. "Did he force you into being his?"   
        "No, he didn't." I answer placing the bandage back on my neck and covering myself with my scarf again. "The ritual wouldn't have worked if I didn't want it."   
        "Ritual?" Stiles asks. "What ritual are we talking about?"   
        "The Mate Ritual." I answer. "It was the only way I could stay in Beacon Hills and coexist with Derek. Derek bit my neck and forever marked me as his. I did the same with him. It's practically a werewolf marriage bond and it doesn't happen very often."   
        "Well congrats on that then." Stiles mutter awkwardly. "Sorry we missed the wedding."   
        "This isn't a joke, Stiles! He practically blackmailed her into this." Scott exclaims.   
        "Blackmail, threat, extortion... whatever you want to call it but what's done is done." I state.   
        "So I'm guessing that's why you wanted to stay away from us." Stiles remarks. "You thought you betrayed us by mating with him."   
        "Sadly for a 21 year old, you two goofballs are my only true friends here and being Derek's mate sets us on opposing sides."   
        "It doesn't have to." Scott replies.   
        "I think it does." Stiles tells him. Scott smacks him in the chest but Stiles holds his ground. "I mean Derek did lie to you and killed Peter. Also he's very scary looking and I'm pretty sure he has it out for me."   
        "Well I don't care. That doesn't mean Diana can't still be friends with us." Scott tells him. He turns back to me with a lopsided smile. "We'll make it work and when I see Derek I'll make sure to punch him in the face for you."   
        "Yeah!" Stiles says fisting his hands. He then puts it away and shrugs. "I would offer that too but I'm honestly to scared to actually do that."   
        I couldn't help but laugh and hug both of them. Scott coughs and I let go.   
        "Sorry, you just really smell like Derek." Scott answers.   
        "Great, now I can't give hugs out to the opposing gender." I mutter. "Derek is so going to get it if I ever see him again."   
        "You haven't talked to him at all?" Stiles asks me.   
        "Of course not," I answer. "I've been hiding out at Deaton's place the past few days avoiding any chance of seeing him at home which by the way I moved back into. I also changed the locks so Derek won't be able to get in."   
        "Man, you seriously do know how to kick guys to the curb." Scott remarks.   
        "It's what I do best," I answer. I check the time and begin to shoo them out of the locker room. "You're late for practice and I'm late for practice. We're all late for practice."  
        "Shit." Scott and Stiles shout before running out of the locker room. I laugh as I see them run down the hallway to the field. I adjust my scarf once again and make my way down to the field but at a slower pace. This day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

**************

        I made it back home and just relaxed at the relief of being somewhere secluded and Derek-free. I open the door and still caught the scent of the memory etched in the hallway. I hated that every time I walked to get to my bedroom or to the basement door that I will always smell the memory of the Mate Bond.   
        I ignored the rising feeling of nostalgia and forced myself to walk down the hallway and into my bedroom. I changed into my work-out gear and grabbed my earphones. There was no point in trying to hide the bite anymore. It had healed and it had scarred and it would forever taint my skin.  
        The sun was setting quickly and I walk out of my slide doors into the woods. I start my run on my usual route and continue through with it even when the sun went down and darkness covered the forest. I used my wolf eyes to look through the dark and finished my run. I was ready to turn back when a familiar scent of the Omega werewolf from earlier caught my attention.   
        He was moving fast and I soon realized it was because he was being chased. I was too focused in tracking the Omega that I ignored the other tracker. I ran faster and slid down a hill to cut him off but he never came. I look around and find him a couple feet away hanging by a trip wire. I was about to run in and help him but someone tackles me to the ground. I look up to find Derek pinning me on a tree.   
        "Wait! Stop! What are you doing?" I ask him. "I have to warn him. I have to run him out of town."   
        "They're already here." Derek tells me. I struggle in his arms as I see the Omega dangling.   
        "I can help him!"   
        "Quiet!" Derek angrily whispers at me. I stop struggling as I see the Omega become surrounded by Argents. Chris walks up to him and takes out his electric baton and electrocutes him back to his human state.    
        " _Who are you?_ " Chris asks him. He gets no response. " _What are you doing here?"_    
        " _Nothing. Nothing, I swear."_  the Omega answers.   
        " _You're not from here, are you?_ " Chris asks and once again he doesn't get a response.  _"Are you?!"_    
        " _No. No, I came...I came looking for the Alphas. I heard there were two here. That's all. Look, I didn't do anything. I didn't hurt anyone. No one living. He wasn't alive in the ambulance. He wasn't, I swear."_  
        "Oh my God...he's the one eating the livers. Oh my God..." I mutter. I stare at the unfolding scene in front of me and become frozen in fear when I saw a familiar face appear from the crowd.   
        " _Gentlemen! Take a look at a rare sight._ " the eldest Argent shouts out. Gerard then turns to Chris. " _You wanna tell them what we've caught?_ "   
        " _An Omega_."   
        " _The lone wolf! Possibly kicked out of his own pack. Or the survivor of a pack that was hunted down. Maybe even murdered. And possibly alone by his own choice. Certainly not a wise choice._ " Gerard tells them. I hear the sound of silver scratch against the rock and I shiver as I see Gerard hold up a sword. " _As I am about to demonstrate an Omega rarely survives on his own."_    
        The sword slides through the air and the scream that wanted to escape my throat is blocked by Derek covering my mouth. I look away and find Derek's green eyes staring down at me.   
        "Look. You see what they do? This is why you need me. Why we need each other. The only way to fight them is together." Derek tells me. "I let you give me the silent treatment. I let you be angry and upset with me. I let you ignore and hide the Mate mark but now it's time for you to help me."   
        "They're declaring war, Derek." I tell him. "What are we supposed to do?"   
        "Protect each other and protect the pack." Derek states. "You need to get Scott on our side. Because this is what they're going to do to him if he doesn't align himself with one of us."   
        I look away from him and stare at the Argents. I never expected things to turn out this way. We hadn't done anything wrong. They have a code that they live up to. What happened to it?  
        " _We have a code_." Chris tells Gerard.   
        " _Not when they murder my daughter. No code. Not anymore. From now on, these things are just bodies waiting to be cut in half. Are you listening? Because I don't care if they're wounded and weak. Or seemingly harmless, begging for their life with the promise that they will never, ever hurt anyone. Or some desperate, lost soul with no idea what they're getting into. We find them. We kill them. We kill them all."_  
        I let Derek drag me out of there and down the woods towards my cabin. We slip into the backyard and he tries to unlock my bedroom door but wasn't able to.   
        "Why isn't my key working?" he mutters.   
        "Because I changed all the locks you idiot." I answer.   
        "Why would you do that?"   
        "Because you used to have keys to get in." I reply. "I don't want you getting inside my house ever again."   
        "Are you serious?" Derek asks me upset.   
        "Of course I am." I answer. "I also need an address so I can send all your worthless shit to because you're obviously not going to be staying here anymore."   
        "Diana..." Derek starts to say but I interrupt him.   
        "I don't want to hear anything come out from your mouth." I state. "I'm still not ready to deal with you right now. I am so upset and tired and frankly I still want to kill you."   
        "I'm glad to hear that." Derek sighs out.  
        "Glad? You're glad... great. How about you try to apologize like any normal person would?"   
        "Because you won't accept my apology anyways." Derek answers. "I'm going for a direct route..."   
        "You know what? Take your direct route and walk yourself to hell." I tell him. "And another thing don't get near Isaac."   
        "Who's Isaac?" he asks me.   
        "Are you serious right now?" I ask him. "He's the boy you pulled out of a buried grave."   
        "Oh yeah..." Derek says remembering.   
        "Well?" I ask him. "Stay away from him. I don't want him being a part of anything werewolf related."   
        "Why do you care about a random kid?" Derek asks.   
        "Remember that abused boy I was hoping to save?" I ask Derek. He nods so I continue. "Well it's Isaac and I'm so close to getting custody of him. I don't want to save his life just to put him into another dangerous one where there's hunters who would want to kill him. So leave him out of this Derek!"   
        "I won't deny him if this is what he wants."   
        "Leave him out of it, ok? Do it for me." I ask him. "Please, just leave Isaac out of this."    
        Derek doesn't give me an answer and instead turns to look out into the forest. I sigh and unlock my bedroom door. I slide it open and turn back to him.   
        "I don't open up to people. Far less, care about them. But you Derek, you were the exception. I really shouldn't have let you get close to me but I did and I will forever regret making that choice."   
        Derek doesn't say anything and instead just stares at me with dark green eyes.  
        "Goodnight Derek." I whisper. "And as for that apology...you're doing _spectacularly_ great." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on guys. You've got to love this chapter. I had fun writing this. Yes, Derek and Diana are not in good terms but hey we all know they'll end up together.


	24. Truth and Lies

        After a long run in the woods, I made it back home to have a quick dinner. I was going to go down to the basement afterwards to punch out the bag but I was still winded from the run. A little too winded. My heart hadn't stopped beating rapidly and I have had more than enough time to calm myself down. I clutched at the wooden table and felt my eyes turn red. Something wasn't right, as usual.  
        I quickly gain control of my wolf and grabbed my keys. I guess a night alone was too much to ask for. I made my way to Derek's new lair which was an abandoned railroad warehouse. I should have brought his packed boxes. I could have killed two birds with one stone in this trip. I shake that thought when I make it to the empty warehouse district. Rain had started to fall and I got drenched i it as I ran inside.   
        "Derek!" I shouted as I run in. It felt like I was out of breath even though it was a short jog inside. "Derek, we need to talk!"   
        "You don't have to shout," Derek answers as he steps out of the darkness of a subway car.   
        "I need you to explain what's happening to me right now." I state. "I feel my heart beating faster than usual and I feel like I can't breathe..."   
        "Diana." Derek says as he steps closer to me. The feeling continued and seemed to grow even worse.   
        "My throat is dry and I know this feeling. I know..." I look down and see claws extending from my nails. I fall to my knees and Derek quickly crouches down.   
        "Diana, what's wrong?" he asks. "You're losing control. Why are you losing control?"   
        "Fear, I'm feeling fear." I answer. I look up and see his eyes search my face. His eyes shone red as they met mine. "That's my anchor, Derek. Fear should keep me in control but this... this fear inside of me is nothing like I felt before."  
        Derek doesn't say anything and instead helps me sit down inside the subway car. My wolf trashed as if she was in trouble but then she settled. I took a deep breath and felt myself going back to normal. Derek sighs in relief as he see's me back to my human self.  
        "What was that?" I ask him. "What just happened?"   
        "I should have told you sooner..." Derek starts to say but the creaking of the door catches both of our attention. I hear rushed steps from the stairs and hear a familiar voice shout out.   
        "Derek? Derek!" Isaac shouts as he enters the subway car with us.   
        "Isaac?" I quietly ask.   
        "What's wrong?" Derek asks him. I look in between the two and shakily stand up.  
        "My dad. I think he's dead." Isaac tells him.  
        "What did you do?" Derek asks him stepping towards him. I felt my eyes turn red as my gaze returned to Isaac. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as realization hit me.  
        "That's the thing. It wasn't me." Isaac answers. I step out of the shadows that Derek had me in and face Isaac. The fear he had quickly shifted to shock. "Diana..."   
        "You turned him?!" I ask turning to Derek. I punch his shoulder repeatedly. "You could have given me a heads up!"   
        "She knows?" Isaac asks him too.   
        "Are you serious right now?" I ask Derek. "Did you even talk to him before giving him the bite or did you just go ahead and do it?"  
        "She's one of us?" Isaac asks.   
        Derek tried to answer our questions but seemed overwhelmed as Isaac and I cornered him.   
        "There's a lot of explaining you have to do." I tell him. "But Isaac's father is dead and someone other than us killed him."   
        "What am I supposed to do?" Isaac asks us.   
        "Tell us what happened."   
        "Well, my dad and I were having dinner. He then started to be his usual self. He threw a glass at me and I didn't dodge it fast enough. He almost blinded me and I healed in front of him. I didn't mean to...but I ran out and he chased after me. I hid in an alleyway ready to make my way here but I smelled blood and I found him dead. There was scratches all over him and the car door was ripped out of the car."   
        I look at Derek in concern. We already had one Omega into town and that ended up badly. We couldn't have more coming in.  
        "You should stay here..." Derek starts to say but I cut him off.   
        "No." I state earning a glare from Derek. "It's a school night and you're living in an abandoned warehouse. No, Isaac is going to go stay with me. In the nice now spare bedroom that I have."  
        "Don't I know it..." Derek mutters under his breath. I narrow my eyes at him and he looks away. "Fine, whatever take my beta."   
        " _Our beta._ " I correct. "Wasn't that the whole purpose you practically forced me to be  _marked_? What's yours is mine and vice versa."  
        "Yeah, whatever..." Derek mutters. I shake my head at Derek and turn to a confused Isaac.   
        "What's going on?" he asks us.   
        "Nothing." Derek and I answer simultaneously.   
        Isaac wasn't convinced but didn't ask any more questions. I start to lead him out and turn back to Derek who was watching us go.   
        "We're not done you and I." I state. "You just keep digging yourself a deeper hole, Hale. You might not be able to get out if you keep at it." 

**************

        Isaac and I made it home. The rain had stopped and we were slowly getting dry. I give him a quick tour but his senses notices something from the hallway and I quickly lead him into the guest bedroom. The room was filled with boxes but wasn't cluttered. Isaac looked around and obviously sniffed the air.   
        "Derek stayed here didn't he?" Isaac asks me.   
        "This was his room." I answer. "If I had known you were staying I would have rid the room of his scent and crap."   
        "What happened between you two?" Isaac asks as he open up the boxes.   
        "We were neighbors, then roommates, and then feelings happened, and then he betrayed me. Push came to shove and now we're mates." I tell him.   
        "And you kicked him out...why?" Isaac asks me.   
        "Well, like I said he betrayed me. It's best to keep him at arm's length from now on." I reply.   
        Isaac continues to look around and finally sits on the bed.   
        "I didn't mean for tonight to happen. Derek told me about you...about his she-wolf. He told me about what happens to Omegas and the hunters. He told me mostly everything. I knew the risk of turning into a werewolf and I still wanted it. You can't blame everything on Derek."  
        "I'm glad you're defending him but I would of have to kicked him out eventually since you were going to move in." I tell Isaac. "Being a werewolf is your choice I just hoped that you would have told me."   
        "Yeah, I should have come out clean when you asked. I was just scared and I didn't know you were one of us."   
        "Now you don't have to be scared anymore." I state. "You're not alone and I'm going to protect you like I promised you before."   
        Isaac timidly smiles at me and I smile at him in return.   
        "Bathroom is down that door and you can just borrow one of Derek's clothes to sleep in." I tell him. "Tomorrow morning, you're going to lacrosse practice and to school. You're going to act like everything's normal. There's nothing to tie you with your father's death so you should be safe."  
        "Do I have to?" Isaac asks me.   
        "Yes, because if you don't show up they'll think you're on the run." I answer. "I'll wake you up 7:30 sharp. We wouldn't want to be late."   
        "And what about the full moon tomorrow?" Isaac asks me. I stop as I hear that. I had completely forgotten about that.   
        "We'll deal with that when the time comes." I answer. "I'll help you through it."

**************

        Isaac did what I told him to do and he made his way to the locker room to change. Everything had to seem normal for him so people wouldn't act suspicious. I followed him a few minutes after since I had to park the car. Derek had called me countless times but as usual I ignored him. I grabbed my gear  and headed out to the field. I wrapped my jacket tighter around me as Scott and Stiles quickly sat beside me.   
        "There's another werewolf here," Scott states. "It was kind of like a scent, but I couldn't tell who it was.  Can you?"  
        "All I can smell is you, Scott." I lie. "Which reminds me, I need to teach you how to cover up your scent."   
        Scott mumbles an agreement and looks around the field. Coach Finstock blows his whistle and Stiles and Scott head into the field. I could see them look around searching for the other beta. I knew I should have told them about Isaac but the less they knew the better. I sat down at my usual spot and watched the practice start.   
        Scott had managed to take up Danny's spot as goalie which I thought was strange. It wasn't until I saw him tackle down a player in the most awkward way that I knew what he was up to. I cringed as he helped the player up and obviously sniff them.  
        "McCall!" Coach shouts.  
        "Yeah." Scott says looking up.  
        "Usually the goalie stays somewhere within the vicinity of the actual goal."  
        "Yes, coach." Scott says returning to the goal.  
        "Let's try it again." Coach says pitchin in another ball. Once again, Scott comes running out of the net and attacks another player.  
        "McCall! The position's goal keeper. Not goal abandoner." Coach yells out.  
        "Sorry, coach." Scott apologizes.  
        "Let's go!" Coach yells out. Scott then proceeded to do his awkward sniff out again and I look away in embarrassment.  
        "Stilinski, what the hell is wrong with your friend?" Coach asks Stiles.  
        "Uh, he's failing two classes. He's a little socially awkward and if you look close enough, his jaw line's kind of uneven."  
        Coach then looks back at Scott and tilts his head.   
        "That's interesting."  
        Scott continued to attack the offense and his current victim was Danny. His discreet hadn't gotten any better in fact it seems to be getting worse.   
        "McCall! You come out of that goal one more time and you'll be doing suicide runs till you die. It'll be the first ever suicide run that actually ends in a suicide! Got it?" Coach yells out at Scott.  
        "Yes, coach." Scott agrees.  
        Jackson was up next and seeing the look in Scott's eyes he decided to sit out on this drill. I sit up as I see Isaac breathing heavily. My eyes shifted red as I felt him starting to shift. Without being able to stop him, Isaac runs down the field and faces Scott head on. They both crash against each other but manage to land facing each other.  
        "Don't tell them. Please don't tell them." Isaac whispers. I look up and see the Sheriff and two of his officers walking this way. I knew what they were here for and I quickly help Isaac up. Scott looks at us both confused and shocked. The Sheriff talks to Coach before calling for Isaac.   
        "Can you hear what they're saying?" Stiles asks Scott and I.   
        "His father's dead. They think he was murdered." Scott answers.  
        "Are they saying he's a suspect?" Stiles asks.  
        "I'm not sure, why?"  
        "Because they can lock him in a holding cell for 24 hours." I tell them.  
        "Like, overnight?" Scott asks us.  
        "During the full moon." Stiles states.  
        "How good are these holding cells at holding people?" I ask Stiles.  
        "People, good. Werewolves, probably not that good." Stiles tells me.  
        "Stiles, remember when I said I don't have the urge to maim and kill?" Scott asks him. Stiles nods remembering. Scott turns toward Isaac's direction with concern."Well he does."   
        I pack up my things and look down at the two teenagers.   
        "I'm not going to let that happen." I tell them. "Derek turned him and it's my responsibility to protect him."   
        "Why? Because he's your beta." Scott states accusingly.   
        "Look I should have told you but there's things you don't understand." I tell Scott. "Derek wanted me to convince you into my pack but that means that not only am I your Alpha but Derek is too."  
        "There's no way I'll ever follow him." Scott exclaims.   
        "I know that's why I didn't even bother to try. If Derek doesn't get you in our pack then he'll make his own betas and I can't stop him. With Gerard's return, the Argents are out for war and they're not going easy. He killed an Omega the other night and if you don't align yourself with us, he'll come for you. An Omega rarely survives on it's own."  
        "Then what do we do?" Stiles asks. "Scott can't just go with you since you and Derek are a package deal!"   
        "I have a plan." I tell him glancing at both of them. "But right now I need to get Isaac out of this. I knew him before this whole beta thing. Isaac's a good kid with a tough life. I promised him I would protect him."   
        "You promised me that too." Scott states.   
        "And I keep my word." I answer. "For now, I just need you to hide your werewolf abilities as best as you can. I need more time to figure out what I'm going to do with our situation."  
        Scott nods hesitantly and Stiles leads him away heading to the locker room. I watch as the Sheriff and his officers led Isaac away into the school building. I follow after them and see the Sheriff hand Isaac to his deputies. I quickly call out to him once I see Isaac being taken to a vacant room.   
        "Sheriff!" I say quickly jogging up to him. He turns to me and offers me a polite smile.  
        "Good morning, Diana."   
        "Yes, good morning...actually not really." I state causing him to frown. I point to the vacant room that Isaac was in. "I heard about Isaac's father and how he might have been murdered. You don't actually think he's a suspect, do you? I mean the boy is as sweet as he can be."  
        "There's a witness that says he has a potential motive."   
        "If you're talking about his father's abuse, I know about it." I tell him. The Sheriff seemed surprised when I said this. "I'm the nurse here and I took notice of his constant injuries. I told him I could help him and he didn't want it until a few weeks ago he changed his mind."   
        "Diana..." Sheriff sighs out.  
        "Look, Isaac didn't do it. I had a case set up and things were getting prepared. I had the paperwork done to gain temporary custody. There's no reason for him to go and kill his father! He was just days away to getting out of there. Why would he just randomly snap?"    
        "It's obvious you care for the boy but I have a witness saying he saw Isaac run out of the house and his father chasing after him."   
        "Who's the witness?" I ask. Sheriff looks around and sighs.   
        "Jackson Whittemore, he's Isaac's neighbour."  
        "And what does he know?" I ask him.   
        "That's what I'm about to find out." Sheriff replies. "He's waiting for me in the principal's office. Now, if you'll excuse me."  
        I nod and Sheriff Stilinski heads towards the office. I remain around the area of the office ready to overhear the interrogation. That is until Gerard walks in and catches sight of me. I hide my surprise behind a smile. He looks at my uniforms and up to me.  
        "I don't think I've had the pleasure to meet you. My name is Gerard Argent. I'm the new principal."   
        "I'm Diana Ross by the way. School Nurse and trainer." I reply taking his offered hand and shaking it.   
        "Diana," he repeats my name narrowing his eyes at me. "I was reviewing your file this morning. Overqualified might I add for a simple nurse job."     
        "I just wanted something that paid the bills and well kept me occupied." I state.   
        "Hmm..." Gerard hums as he looked down at me.   
        I swallow nervously as I met his eyes. He doesn't say anything else. His eyes were fixated on my face and I could only stare back. I cleared my throat and broke from his gaze.   
        "Diana," he repeats. "You know a name is strong. It defines us and a name like yours holds a strong meaning."   
        "Excuse me?" I ask.   
        "Yes, Diana is the name of a Roman goddess." Gerard starts to say. "Do you know what that Roman goddess signified?"  
        "No, I do not." I answer feeling uneasy to what he was going to say next.   
        "She was the Goddess of the Hunt." Gerard states. My blood freezes as his eyes narrowed down at me but I kept my expression calm. "She lived in the woods and her senses were so great that she knew everything that happened in her woods. A great hunter and it was in her nature."    
        "I didn't know that." I reply trying to slow down my heartbeat.   
        "Yes and the symbol for the goddess Diana is the moon." Gerard says walking in front of me. I took a deep breath and remained undisturbed. "And her hunting dogs were always depicted as wolves."   
        "Wolves, really?"   
        "Yes." Gerard says as he walks over to me. "You know you don't meet a lot of Diana's."   
        "We're a rare find," I answer steadily.   
        "Yes, indeed. I knew a Diana once. Sweet girl and smart too...like you. She actually lived in Beacon Hills the same time my family did." Gerard begins to say. It took all of my concentration to not panic as he continued to talk. "She was a firecracker though. Could get angry in a matter of seconds especially when they called her this ridiculous nickname. What was it? Nana, Dina, Di... I can't remember. Either way, I hope that you two aren't alike in that aspect of hotheadedness."   
        "I wouldn't judge a person by their name," I respond.   
        "Of course," Gerard replies with a small smile. He stands in front of me as he leans on his desk. "I just want to make sure these kids are under good care."   
        "They are," I state standing from my seat. "I should really go though. I have those kids to take care of."   
        "Right, don't let me hold you." Gerard says as he waves me off. I smile and give him a polite nod as I turn to leave. I was just out the door when he spoke up again. " _DiDi!_ " he exclaims with a grin. "That was her nickname. Do you mind if I call you _DiDi_?"   
        My hand lightly shakes but I will myself to stop. My voice came out strong and clear. I was relieved when it didn't waver.  
        "Of course I don't mind." I answer. "It's a cute nickname."   
        Gerard just smiled at me and I smiled back. I walk out of his office in a panic. He knew. My God, he knew who I was and who I am. I quickly walked down the hall desperately needing an escape. In the mist of it all, I run into Scott who seemed to have rushed out of his class.   
        "Diana are you ok?" he asks me. I look up at him and blink a couple of times. I snap out of my state and gave him a simple nod.  
        "Yeah, I'm fine." I answer. "Why aren't you in class?"   
        "I heard the officers talking." Scott answers looking at me confused. "They're taking him to the police station. I thought you were going to stop them."   
        I face palmed as I realized my negligence.   
        "Gerard stopped me. He's the new principal." I mutter. "God, he was probably trying to delay me."   
        Without waiting for a response, I run down the hall. Scott followed after me as we pushed through the front doors. I caught a glimpse of Isaac from the back of the patrol car as they drove away. In a matter of seconds, Derek's Camaro came into view. Derek lowers the window and looks at us through his sunglasses.  
        "Get in."  
        "Are you serious? You did that. That's your fault." Scott states.  
        "I know that. Now get in the car and help me." Derek repeats.  
        "No, I have to agree with Scott here. I'm gonna call my lawyer. Because he might actually have a chance at getting him out before the moon goes up." I answer turning back to the school. Scott was about to follow me when Derek spoke up.  
        "Not when they do a real search of the house."  
        "What do you mean?" I ask him.  
        "Whatever Jackson said to the cops...what's in the house is worse." Derek tells me. I look at him skeptically but he was dead serious. "A lot worse."   
        I walk down the steps and open the door. Scott squeezes into the backseat while I take shotgun. Derek then speeds out of the school parking. There was a silence in the car as we drove to Isaac's house. Scott was glaring at Derek, Derek was ignoring Scott and glancing at me, and I was ignoring Derek.   
        "Are you ok?" Derek asks me after a while.   
        "Yeah, I'm fine." I whisper.   
        "No, you're not." he states as he shifted gears. "I felt you panic today."   
        "You felt my panic?" I start to ask annoyed at the invasion of privacy.   
        "The mate bond connects us emotionally. Last night must have triggered it."  
        "I don't remember you telling me this part when you asked me to become mates."  
        "I didn't." Derek replies. I scoff and turn back to the window.  
        "Just great. Not only did your need of a pack put someone I care about in trouble but you also withheld information about our bond."   
        "Why did you panic?" Derek asks ignoring my small rant. I remain silent and Derek repeats the question more urgently. "Why did you panic, Diana?"   
        "Leave her alone." Scott growls out. "If she doesn't want to answer, then she doesn't."   
        "Gerard cornered me right before they took Isaac away." I tell him sending Scott a thankful glance.   
        "Diana..." Derek starts to say but I put my hand up.   
        "I can protect myself, Hale." I state. "I don't need you and your macho testosterone to loom over me like a bulldog."  
        Derek doesn't say anything and turns back to the road. Scott looked at me with concern through the rear view mirror and I gave him a smile to ease him. 

*************

        Derek handed Scott and I a flashlight as we entered Isaac's house. The sun had set a while ago and we couldn't turn on the lights since no one was supposed to be inside. Derek found the extra key and took us in. The house seemed normal but I could slowly feel the things that had occurred here. The smell of fear and despair were heavily etched on the walls and furniture.   
        "If Isaac didn't kill his father, who did?" Scott asks us.  
        "I don't know yet." Derek answers. He turns to me. "Do you have any ideas?"  
        "A few..." I whisper as I look around. Derek waits for me to go on but I don't. "None I care to share though."   
        "Ok, how do you know Isaac's telling the truth?" Scott asks.  
        "Because I trust my senses. And it's a combination of them. Not just your sense of smell." Derek tells him as he glares at Scott. They both stop walking.   
        "You saw the lacrosse thing today." Scott states.  
        "Yeah." Derek mumbles.  
        "Did it look that bad?" Scott asks him.  
        "Yeah." Derek says patting him on the back and pushing past him to lead. Scott turns to me embarrassed.   
        "Did it really look that bad?" he asks me.   
        "Let's just say it wasn't your greatest moment." I tell him before following after Derek.   
        "You wanna learn how to use your senses?" Derek asks him. Scott nods and Derek opens the door to a staircase. "Let's start now."  
        "What's down there?" Scott asks him.  
        "Motive." Derek answers. I took the lead and Scott started to follow after me. Once I started to make my way downstairs my senses were overwhelmed. My heart started to beat faster and my eyes watered by the stench of pure panic. I stop halfway through and Scott moves ahead of  me. Derek looks at me in concern as he steps beside me but I take a deep breath and continue.  
        "And what am I looking for?" Scott asks.  
        "Follow your senses." Derek replies. Scott looks around and starts to sense what I've been sensing this whole time. He turns around and looks at us.   
        "What happened down here?" Scott asks.  
        "The kind of thing that leaves an impression." I answer. I found the source of the impression fairly quickly and soon Scott did too. My heart beats faster as we approach a small fridge. The smell of panic was very intense that it had my hands shaking slightly. Scott fumbles with the lock on the fridge and Derek appears suddenly.  
        "Open it." Derek instructs Scott. Scott does as he's told and slowly opens the fridge. The door creaks and a fresh scent wafts into the air. I inhale it deeply which was something I quickly regret. The fridge door and the walls surrounding it had dry blood due to the deep scratch marks.  
        "Oh my God," I gasp out in shock. I stumble back and bump into Derek. He quickly stabilizes me and I couldn't help but push myself into his arms and cling to him for dear life. "That's what he meant...that's what Isaac meant when he said he found a new way to abuse him. Oh my God..."   
        Derek shushes me as I fought the tears that were coming out.   
        "This is all my fault." I whisper. "If I hadn't threatened his father...I made it worse."   
        "You were only protecting Isaac." Derek tells me as he held me close. "You did nothing wrong."   
        I bury my head deeper into his chest as tears continued to fall. Derek continued to comfort me which I was thankful for. I don't know how long this lasted but Scott closed the door of the fridge and I quickly retracted myself from Derek. I quickly wipe away the tears and took a step away from Derek as Scott approached us.   
        "This is why he said yes to you." Scott states.  
        "Everyone wants power." Derek answers.  
        "If I help you, then you have to stop. You can't just go around turning people into werewolves." Scott tells him.  
        "I can if they're willing." Derek replies.  
        "Derek..." I whisper not agreeing to his motto but he ignored me.   
        "Did you tell Isaac about the Argents? About being hunted?" Scott asks.  
        "Yes, and he still asked."  
        "Then he's an idiot." Scott remarks.  
        "And you're the idiot dating Argent's daughter." Derek exclaims. Scott turns to him in surprise and Derek continues. "Yeah. I know your little secret. And if I know, how long do you think it's gonna take for them to find out? Diana told you what happens to an Omega. With us, you learn how to use all of your senses. With us, you learn control. Even on a full moon."  
        Derek holds up Scott's hand that was slowly reverting into claws. Scott pulls his hand away from him and glares at him.  
        "If I'm with you, I lose her." Scott states.  
        "You're gonna lose her anyway." I whisper and Scott turns to me sadly. "You know that."  
        "I'm not part of your pack." Scott tells us. "But I want him out. He's my responsibility too."  
        "Why?" Derek asks him. "Because he's one of us?"  
        Scott looks at me and then back down to the fridge.   
        "Because he's innocent." 

************

        Scott remained behind since he was still under the control of the moon. He called Stiles and Allison to help us out on breaking Isaac out of the cell they kept him in. Allison had helped slow down a hunter that was on his there while Stiles met up with us to show us how to get Isaac out.   
        "Okay, now the keys to every cell are in a password protected lockbox in my father's office. The problem is getting past the front desk." Stiles tells us. We look to the windows of the police department and find a woman working the front desk.  
        "I'll distract her." Derek states turning back to us.  
        "Whoa, whoa, whoa - you?" Stiles asks confused. "You're not going in there."  
        "I was exonerated." Derek replies.  
        "You're still a person of interest." Stiles exclaims.  
        "An innocent person."  
        "An-you? Yeah, right!" Stiles mumbles in which Derek just shrugs innocently. "Okay, fine. What's your plan?"   
        "To distract her." Derek answers simply.  
        "Uh - huh. How? By punching her in the face?"  
        "Heh, by talking to her." Derek replies.  
        "Okay, all right. Give me a sample. " Stiles says. "What are you gonna open with?"  
        Derek takes a deep breath but says nothing.   
        "Dead silence. That should work beautifully." Stiles states.  
        "Well it worked on Diana." Derek says looking back at me. I smile at him sarcastically as he grinned at me.  
        "As I recall, it was your  _this is private property...get out._ " I state in which Stiles snorts. "Actually I think what really struck gold with me was when you cornered me at my house and told me we had no other choice but to become mates."  
        Derek just glares at me and Stiles looks at us in concern as the tension in the car rose.   
        "Any other ideas? Other than Diana's insightful pointers."  
        "I'm thinking about punching you in the face." Derek states glaring at him.   
        "How about we do this before one of you get's hurt?" I ask them. Derek scoffs but I point my stare at him. "Especially you, mister. You're in the dog house as it is."   
        "Yeah!" Stiles says which once again makes Derek turn to him with a threatened glare. "Or I could just...yeah. I'll be quiet."   
        Derek nods at that and opens the door. He helps me out and we all meet at the front of the car. Derek starts to walk ahead but I catch his jacket before he could get to far.   
        "What? If I can't hurt your stupid teenage friend..."   
        "Some real pointers..." I state interrupting him. "It's obvious she's been working for a long time. She's on her third cup of coffee since we've got here. She's going to feel gross and tired. Compliment her beauty or her work ethic. Either one should distract her long enough and make sure to block her view from us."   
        Derek just nods and starts to walk in. Stiles and I wait a minute before walking in ourselves. We hide behind the closed door and wait for our cue.   
        _"_ _Good evening, how can I help...you?"_ I slowly peer around the door and find the officer placing the loose strand of her ponytail behind her ear and smiling at him. She was surprised to see him and it was evident.  
        "Hi." Derek greets.   
        "Hi." she replies.   
        "Um, I had a question." Derek states pausing. "Um, sorry I'm a little... a little thrown. I wasn't really expecting someone..."  
        "Like me?" she asks him with a timid smile.  
        "Oh, I was gonna say "so incredibly beautiful" but, yeah, I guess that'd be the same thing." Derek flirts.  
        "Incredibly beautiful?" I whisper to Stiles. "Is he seriously getting away with that?"   
        I had to restrain a gag as she giggled at him and Stiles motioned for us to go. Derek blocked her view of us and Stiles and I ran past. We were almost at the Sheriff's office when I run into someone.   
        "Sorry we were looking for..." I begin to say before I catch the scent of blood. I look down and find an arrow sticking out of the guard. Before I could do anything, I start to feel a pain on my neck which causes the hunter to easily push me into the wall. Stiles starts to chase after him but the hunter was better trained and managed to drag Stiles away and covered his mouth from screaming.  
        I growl as I pick myself up ready to follow after him. I unravel my scarf and place a hand on my neck and notice that the bite scar was the source of the pain. I ignore the stinging as the fire alarm goes off. I start to run down the hall and towards the jail cell. I walk in to find the hunter letting Stiles go and the jail cell being wide open.   
        Out of nowhere, Isaac comes running in and attacks the hunter. Stiles stumbles into me and I quickly get out of his way and make my way toward Isaac. He throws the hunter against the wall, wolfed out entirely, and growls. The hunter tries to inject him with wolfsbane but Isaac quickly disarms him and bashes the hunters head into the wall making him unconscious. I take a few careful steps in and break the vile that held the wolfsbane.  
        "Isaac," I call out. He turns to me breathing heavily and takes a step towards me. "Isaac, it's me Diana."   
        He seems to calm down as he hears my name but his attention then turns to Stiles. Isaac starts to make his way there but I quickly block him. Isaac growls at my face but I push him back. Isaac wasn't contempt with that and moves to attack me but Derek walks in and lets out a loud growl. Isaac quickly backs away and cowers into a corner.   
        "How did you do that?" Stiles asks motioning to a scared human Isaac.   
        "I'm the Alpha." Derek states.   
        "Was it really necessary?" I ask him as I make my way to Isaac. I brush down his hair trying to calm him from the fear he had to Derek's growl. "You scared him."   
        "He was going to hurt you!"   
        "And I could have defended myself!" I shout back. "You're not the only Alpha here."   
        Derek just glares at me and doesn't reply. I help Isaac up who looks at Derek in worry.  
        "He's not going to hurt you." I tell him. "No one's going to hurt you anymore. Not on my watch."   
        Isaac seems to calm down after I said this. Derek watches out interaction with interest before masking it away. 

************

        We left the police station and were all driving down the road. Isaac still looked pale and frightened but I knew it had to do with him running away from the law.   
        "He can't stay with me." I state after a moment of silence. Derek and Isaac turn to me upset with my revelation. "The Sheriff knows I have a relationship with Isaac. My place will be the first spot they check. He's going to have to stay with you."  
        "Great. I'm a fugitive and apparently a child with two parents arguing for custody." Isaac mumbles.   
        "Oh don't whine. I know you like the newfound attention." I joke back. Isaac smiles at me and Derek shakes his head at us.   
        "Fine, he'll stay with me at the warehouse then." Derek states.   
        "Ok, and I'll be staying with Deaton for a while." I tell him.   
        "Why?"   
        "The woods are crawling with more hunters by the day." I answer. "They seem to be setting up at your house waiting for you. It won't take them long to find me especially with Gerard suspicions."  
        "I could move back in and make the house more secure." Derek offers.   
        "Nice try but no." I answer. "I'm pretty sure you being at my cabin will make it worse since you know...they're looking for you."   
        "Fine. What did you and Gerard talk about anyways?" Derek asks.   
        "The importance of names." I state. Derek and Isaac look at me confused but I don't elaborate. We reach the abandoned warehouse and I step towards my car.  "Umm, I'll bring your stuff later and also some food when I can."   
        "Can you bring us breakfast?" Isaac asks. "Like those waffles from this morning?"   
        "She's not your mom, Isaac." Derek scowls at him.   
        "It's fine, Derek." I state. "And I'll try to bring waffles and pancakes and other good food."   
        "Fajitas?" Derek asks.   
        "No, not for you." I state.   
        "But what about me?" Isaac asks.   
        "Yes, I can do that for you."   
        "Cool," Isaac says smiling at me. His smile disappeared once Derek glared at him. "I'm going to go inside now and make myself a bed."   
        "Yeah go do that." Derek growls. Isaac heads inside and I turn back to Derek and glare at him.   
        "Hey it's not his fault that I like him more." I tell him. "He's our beta. What did you expect?"   
        Derek just sighs and turns away from me.   
        "You're right."   
        "I'm what?" I ask surprised.   
        "You're right and I'm sorry." Derek answers.   
        "Sorry for what?" I ask him. "Because there are many things to be sorry. Like forcing me to be your mate or making betas without telling me and hiding characteristics of our bond."   
        "I'm sorry for everything, ok?" he admits. "But it's not all bad."   
        "I find that hard to believe." I argue.  
        "Is it?" Derek asks me as he slowly walks up to me. "Because this mate bond allows me to know when something's wrong with you and allows you to stay here in Beacon Hills. And as for creating betas it makes us stronger."   
        "I don't care about strength. You can't just turn betas without telling me."  
        "Fine, I'll tell you from now on." Derek replies.  
        "How about you just don't turn anyone?" I ask.  
        "I can't agree to that." Derek answers. "We need protections from the Argents and you said you had your own too."  
        "I can handle my hunters." I state. "I don't need a pack."   
        "But I do. I need at least two more. It's up to you if I turn one person or two." Derek states. "You have to convince Scott."   
        "Like me, Scott hates you. It's not going to happen." I tell him. Derek just shrugs his shoulders and I shake my head at him. "I hate this cocky side of you, Derek and I hated your betrayal even more."   
        "You're not going to forgive me are you?" Derek asks me.   
        "I can forgive you for becoming an Alpha but becoming mates was a big mistake and I'm seeing it now." I say walking past him to get to my car but he grabs onto my arm and pulls me into him.  
        "Is it really that bad?" Derek asks. "I saw how you and Isaac interact. It's like your family... you take care of him and nurture him back to health."  
        "So what?" I ask. "We get along because we're friends."  
        "No, you're getting along because you're the Alpha's mate. It's your job to take care of the pups, catering to their needs, and protecting them. I do the harder and tougher stuff like training them and keeping them under control."   
        "Great you turned me into a housewife." I answer.   
        "You don't understand." he states. "You chose this as I chose this. We were meant for each other."   
        "What does that even mean?" I ask him. He starts to unravel the scarf from my neck and holds the scarf in his hands.   
        "When I asked you to be a part of your pack, I lied." Derek states. I glare at him but he continues. "I lied about how our eyes glowing was a sign of Alpha/Beta compatibility. It went beyond that, we were compatible as wolves and were meant to mate."  
        "How do I know that you're not lying to me again?" I ask.   
        "You don't. But you can bet that I'm not lying about this. I care about you and you care about me too," Derek answers. He holds up my scarf and places it in my hands. "I would stop hiding the mark."  
        "Why?" I ask him.   
        "Because I'm not hiding mine." Derek states pulling down his shirt and revealing the small scar on his shoulder. "I'm not ashamed of you."  
        Derek walks away and heads inside the warehouse. I play with the scarf in my hands and slowly place it on my neck. I left it loose and slowly placed a hand on the bite scar. I walk back to my car letting the words settle and felt conflicted between the lies and the truth.  


	25. Ice Rinks

         _Nightmares were common was what my father told me after I started to join them for hunts. I would wake up, bedsheets sticking to my legs and arms that were sticky with light sweat, my breath would be short and quick as fear racked through me. Yes, nightmares was what I had but they started way before I started to hunt. Ever since the night of the Hale fire my dreams have been plagued by darkness, fire, and howls.  
        _   _I knew I wasn't the only one having them. I could hear Marcos scream sometimes and my father and I were forced to ignore it. We all promised each other to forget. It wasn't our fault it happened but it sure felt like it. So every hunt, every run, every full moon, we creeped deeper into our madness of hunting.  
        Hunt or be Hunted.   
        More like, kill or be killed.   
        Living was what I had decided but I sure didn't feel alive. Two years had passed since the fire. One year after I was given the green light to hunt. In those two years of pure change, I went to school and was forced to act normal. Normal girls focused on school. Normal girls focused on boys and dances. Normal girls focus on everything but murder. _  
         _"Daggers again?" my father asked as he saw me slide blades into my boot and latch the satchel to my waist.  
        "Is that going to be a problem?" I ask coldly putting my jacket on and putting my hair up.   
        "No, of course not." he answers shaking his head at me. "It's just...there's more effective weapons to kill a werewolf."   
        "My job is to track and capture...not to kill. That's Marcos' job. That's **your** job."   
        _ _"One of these days you're going to **do it yourself** , you know?" my father tells me. "Tonight or tomorrow...at some point in your life, you're going to have to kill a werewolf and those daggers will be useless." _  
 _"Isn't it hypocritical?" I ask him as he loads the weapons into the truck. "Killing a killer?"_  
 _"No, it's not." my father answers. "Because we don't kill innocent people, we kill monsters. Whether they're werewolves or some other dangerous supernatural creature, we kill them and we save people by doing so."_  
 _My father then slams the back close and makes his way to the driver's seat. Marcos' comes running in now knowing the location of the pack and enters the truck. I take a deep breath and look up at the full moon in the sky. A howl erupts through the silent night and so does the clicking of a gun._  
  
        I find Deaton shaking me awake and I look at him with red eyes. I look around and find the bed sheets ripped by the claws on my hand. I take a couple of deep breaths as I throw myself back into the bed. I close my eyes trying to slow down my heartbeat ignoring Deaton's presence overall. After I was semi-settled, I get out of bed and make my way to Deaton's kitchen. I pull out a glass out of the cabinet and fill it with water. I drink it slowly as Deaton makes his way into the room.   
        "I owe you new bedsheets..." I state. "...again."   
        "Are you going to tell me what happened just now?" he asks me.  
        "Nope," I answer putting the glass in the sink. I turned to leave but Deaton blocked the exit. I sigh as I gave him a narrowed look.   
        "Diana, what did you dream about?" Deaton asks me.   
        "It was nothing," I assure him. "I don't know what got me so scared. It was really nothing."   
        "It must have been something if you were starting to turn." Deaton states not letting the subject drop. "You're lucky I heard you scream because you were shifting pretty quickly."   
        "I screamed?" I ask him surprised. Deaton nods and I close my eyes and sigh. I lean on the counter giving up. "I screamed."   
        "What's going on?" he asks me. "I thought the nightmares had stopped."   
        "It's stress. It has to be." I answer rubbing the bite mark on my neck. "The Argents, Gerard knowing my history, Isaac, Scott and Stiles, Derek... the bond."   
        I stop rubbing my neck and look up at Deaton who's staring at me in concern.   
        "The bond." I repeat. "Deaton, what do you know about the Mate bond?"   
        Deaton looks away and sighs. I grew worried to his reaction.  
        "The Mate Bond is hard to explain," he answers. "In older times, the Mate bond would be used to join two powerful packs into one, like an arranged marriage between royal families, the Alphas would mate with each other to create an alliance. After centuries passed by and everyone was paired off, the meaning of the bond faded away. Now, the Mate bond can be used for any rank of werewolf. Yet the Mate bond is rarely used and it's rarely seen because of what it entails for both werewolves."  
        "What does it do?" I ask him wanting to know that more than the history of the bond.   
        "The Mate bond bounds both werewolves body and soul. There are certain trials to complete before you finalize the whole bond. Such as imprinting, physically and emotionally..."   
        "So we imprinted on each other with the bite mark." I state and Deaton nods.  
        "But there's more..." Deaton tells me causing my heart to drop. "The bond between you two will grow and grow every time you spend time with each other. It will slowly tie you two together. You will share emotions. You will share physical strengths. You will, in conclusion, become one."   
        "That sounds like a lot of trouble..." I mutter.   
        "That isn't the worst part." Deaton tells me.   
        "What is?" I ask him concerned.   
        "You will essential share the same soul and that is something that lasts forever. There is no turning back. There is no breaking the bond. You will never be able to love another man and he will never be able to love another woman. You two are meant only for each other."   
        I look away from his serious expression and stared blankly ahead of me. I didn't know what to say and my mouth was dry with Deaton's revelation but something came to my mind and I voiced it out.  
        "He said it was meant to be," I tell Deaton remembering the conversation from the night before. "Derek told me that when our eyes shone their true colors...that we were compatible. At the time he told me it was because it was a sign that he was worthy to be in my pack but now he's telling me it was because it was a sign that we were meant to mate."   
        "Huh..." Deaton says after hearing this. "Well that explains it..."   
        "Explains what?" I ask him returning my attention to him.  
        "It surprised me that Derek would so easily resort to this ritual." Deaton answers. "There are high risks in starting the ritual. It doesn't seem like him to just jump into it blind. But if what you said really did happen then I can see why he threw caution to the wind."  
        "Are you telling me that Derek was actually telling me the truth?" I ask him surprised.   
        "It seems so..." Deaton answers. "In all honesty, I think he's been telling you the truth this whole time."   
        I ignored his statement and start to make my way back to my room. Yet I stop when Deaton calls out to me again.  
        "Diana, unlike him, you've been lying." Deaton states. "I think it's time you tell him the truth. Tell him who you truly are before this Mate bond goes any further. He deserves to know."   
        "You know who also deserves to know, Scott." I say looking back at Deaton. "But you have yet to tell him what you are and what you know."   
        "My situation with Scott is different." Deaton responds. "You on the other hand are practically getting married to a man who doesn't know anything real about you."   
        I turn away from him and sigh. The answer was obvious and it was inevitable.   
        "It's safer if he doesn't know, Deaton." I tell him. "It's safer if we all forget who I was." 

***************

        It was a tiring morning not because it was a busy one but because after the conversation with Deaton I couldn't go back to sleep. The conversation and the nightmare forced me awake until my alarm went off and I was forced to get ready for work. I stopped by to see Isaac and drop off some breakfast and managed to get lucky and avoid Derek in that small window of time. I was now at my office, trying to keep my eyes open and force myself awake. My hands started to shake as I tried to write some notes down and I knew it wasn't my tired state. Soon the taste of blood was in my mouth and I knew what was causing my symptoms... _Erica._  
        I ran down the halls and collided with some exiting students. I made sharp turns and pushed myself through the gym doors. I saw a group of students huddled around and I found Scott holding a convulsing Erica.   
        "Put her on her side. Put her on her side." I instruct as I run up to them. Scott places Erica on her side as she continues to convulse.  
        "How'd you know?" Allison asks Scott and I.  
        "I just felt it," Scott answers.  
        I pull out my phone and call for an ambulance. I grasp Erica's hand as she continues to shake on the floor. I try to calm her as much as possible and send Scott and Allison away. Coach Finstock arrives at the scene and yells at the lingering group of kids to get to class.  
        The ambulance comes and manages to stabilize her. I decide to travel with her to the hospital. I didn't want to leave her alone at a time like this. She seemed to need someone. She seemed to need more than what she had and an idea came to my mind. I didn't know why I was even considering it but it was the right thing to do. I called Derek and left him a message. Knowing him, he would find me soon enough.  
        I wait in the room with Erica as Melissa does a routine check-up on her.   
        "It's been awhile since we saw you, Erica. You were being so good about taking your medication." Melissa states.   
        "She stopped coming to my office," I tell Melissa. "I just assumed she was taking them on her own."   
        "Are you gonna tell my mom?" Erica whispers.   
        "Well, I swear I don't want to, but there's this team of lawyers in the back who would break my legs, and I don't know if you've seen my legs, but for a girl my age, they're still pretty hot." Melissa answers. Erica just smiles at her in return. "So, doctor's gonna be in in a minute, ok?"  
        Erica nods and Melissa starts to leave the room.   
        "Is it ok for me to stay with her?" I ask Melissa. "I don't want to leave her alone."   
        "Yeah, that's fine." she answers before leaving.  
        I make my way to Erica's side and tell her to close her eyes and rest. I turn off the lights in the room and unlock the wheels of the bed. I look up to find Derek waiting at the doorway. I just nod to him and he starts to wheel Erica away. I search the hallways making sure no one would catch sight of us as Derek takes Erica to the morgue. I notice Erica starting to wake up and I grab her hand to comfort her.   
        "Lie still," I tell her.   
        I can see her starting to panic and I squeeze her hand in attempts to calm her. Once we reach the morgue I hand Derek Erica's pills. Erica sits up shakily looking in between Derek and I with fear.   
        "Side effects may include anxiety, waking, acne, ulcerative colitis...yeesh." Derek comments.   
        "Diana, who is this?" Erica asks motioning to Derek.   
        "Let's just say..." I start to answer seeing Derek also waiting for a response. "Let's just say he's a friend."   
        Derek sighs at my response but returns his focus to Erica.   
        "You get a warning right before you have a seizure." Derek states.   
        "It's called an aura." Erica answers. "It's...it's like a metallic taste in my mouth."   
        "You don't have to lie, Erica." I tell her not even having to hear her heartbeat to know she wasn't telling me the truth. "What's it really taste like?"   
        "It tastes like blood..." Erica whispers shakily.   
        Derek hands me back Erica's pills and leaves my side. He makes his way towards Erica who was still sitting on the hospital bed with only a hospital gown on.   
        "What if I told you that all of this could go away?" Derek starts to tell her as he strokes Erica's calf tentatively. "The side effects, the symptoms... all of it." Derek then pulls Erica closer to him. His voice drops deeper and I watched the scene in front of me with interest and disgust. "And what if all those things not only went away, but everything else got better?"   
        "How?" Erica asks clearly intrigued whether it was Derek's offer or just Derek himself.  
        "Let us show you..." Derek says and both our eyes turned red. Erica gasps at the sight and I turn away as Derek lunges to give her the bite.   
        I look back to find Erica sighing in relief and Derek wiping his mouth from any trace of blood.   
        "Let me get you back into your room..." I whisper pushing past Derek and wheeling Erica back into her assigned room. She seemed to be in euphoric state and I could see her fingers linger to the bite on her hip.   
        "After your done here, meet us at the abandoned warehouse district. I'll take you to meet the rest of the pack and explain things to you further."   
        I start to leave but Erica reaches up and grabs my hand. Her pale face seemed to instantly gain color and she was smiling genuinely happy at me.   
        "Thank you so much."   
        A hollow smile appears on my face and I pat her hand before leaving the room. I make my way out of the hospital and walk towards my car. Derek was reclining on the driver's door and I sigh as I catch sight of him.   
        "Aren't you going to thank me?" he asks as I continued to ignore him and pull out the keys out of my bag. "Diana, I did you a big favor..."   
        "Was it really necessary to seduce her to say yes?" I ask annoyed. Derek seems stunned by my tone but a grin soon graces his face.   
        "Are you jealous?" he asks me. I roll my eyes and scoff. I push him off my door but Derek grabs me and pins me against my car. "You're jealous, aren't you?"   
        "Oh please, Derek. Don't think so highly of yourself." I state. "I'm upset, there's a huge difference."   
        Derek searches my eyes and sighs.   
        "I still can't hear your heartbeat. I don't know if you're lying or not."   
        "I'm not lying." I exclaim. I shake my head at him annoyed. "The point is, Derek, seducing people isn't the way to do things."   
        "I wasn't seducing a teenager," Derek answers. "I was telling her what the bite would bring to her."   
        "Oh really?" I ask him as my left hand grabs a hold of his and slowly moves upwards to his forearm and then to his bicep. I place my right hand on the rough texture of his gray tank top. My hand then moves painfully slow down from his chest to his abdomen. I watch Derek closely and took note of how his eyes seemed to droop and he tried his hardest to keep his breathing leveled. I lean my face dangerously close to his and whisper, "This isn't seducing?"   
        Derek hearing this pushes himself away from me. There was a lingering of anger in his eyes and I knew it was because I had played him.   
        "Erica is the last one we turn." I tell him. "Or these hands won't just be able to seduce you but will kill you too."   
        "I need one more, Diana." Derek states. "One more to complete the three."   
        "Why is this so important to you?" I ask. "We can defend ourselves really well. We don't need a pack."   
        "We need to stop arguing about this." Derek states. "My reasons are clear. We need a pack to fight against the war that the Argents are calling. I'm trying to protect us. I'm trying to protect you."   
        "How many times do I have to tell you that I can protect myself?" I ask him.   
        "I need to be certain that you are safe," Derek tells me.   
        "Once again you're concerned for my safety," I say with a shake of my head. "Just stop it with the overprotectiveness. It's suffocating me."   
        Derek looks at me upset.  
        "Next time you want to turn someone into our beta, do it yourself."   
        Derek then leaves and I just watch him go. He disappears into the shadows and I let a shaky breath go. I lean on my car door and I breathe as if I was out of breath. I close my eyes and repeat Derek's last words.  _Do it yourself._

_***************_

        The new and improved Erica walked beside me. Her heels clicked on the empty hallway as we made our way to the cafeteria. I let her raid [my closet](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=188038686) and here she was making jaws drop and boys drool. Everyone in the cafeteria stops and stares at her as she makes her way in. I remain at doorway making sure she didn't take her introduction to society to far.   
        Erica walks in and grins at the scene in front of her. She makes her way to a table and grabs the apple from some boy's hand. She takes a big bite out of it and smiles as she wipes her lips. Erica then starts to back away and glances around her once more. I notice Scott looking at me with concern but I turn away from his stare.   
        "Let's go, Erica." I order and Erica starts to walk back to me still grinning at the whole crowd. We both walk down the hallway and rush down the steps. I couldn't let Scott or Stiles catch up to her. I make sure she gets inside Derek's waiting camaro before Scott and Stiles come barging through the school doors. Derek and Erica grin up at them before driving away. I was left to do the final warning.   
        "Diana, what the hell was that?" Scott exclaims stomping down the stairs to meet me.  
        "Seriously dude, I thought you were going to stop the whole turning teens-into-werewolves?" Stiles asks me.   
        "This was my choice," I tell them. "I decided to turn her."   
        "What?" Scott shouts.   
        "Look, you saw her yesterday. She was sick and she was never going to heal from that. She deserves a normal life or one as close to normal." I explain to them. "I told Derek about her and he agreed to turn her."   
        "Diana, they're going to die!" Scott yells at me.  
        "Not if I train them to survive!" I argue back. I sigh and look at both of the teenagers. "There's a war coming, Scott. Battle lines are being drawn especially Gerard being here. He's a threat to us all and Derek is trying to protect us... he's trying to protect me. You can't stop him.  **I** can't stop him."   
        "Then what are we supposed to do?" Scott asks.   
        "There's nothing I can do anymore but you...you can." I state. "Derek still wants you to be in our pack but his patience is wearing thin. He's searching for a third beta as we speak. Maybe you can stop him before it's too late."   
        "Do you know who it might be?" he asks me.   
        "He has some ideas." I answer. "But I can't tell you because then he'll know I sabotaged his plans. Erica is your best bet on this. You'll have to ask her."   
        Stiles and Scott shared a stressed look as I left them with that last piece of advice. I made my way back into the school nervous about the whole thing. 

***************

        The day was over and Derek had made his choice. The ice rink was cold even when I had my jacket on. Derek had finalized the third beta. Scott was too late in stopping him. There was nothing I could do but follow Derek's plan. Scott came into the ice rink and Derek decided to watch the scene from afar.   
         _"Boyd, I just wanna talk."_ Scott exclaims as Boyd works the zamboni on the ice rink. " _Hey, come on, Boyd. Please. Did Derek tell you everything? And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moons. I mean **everything**."_  
_"They told me about the hunters,"_ Boyd answers.   
         _"And that's not enough for you to say no?"_  Scott asks him.  _"Whatever you want there's other ways to get it."  
        "I just wanna not eat lunch alone every day." _ Boyd tells him.   
         _"If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek."_  
        "That really hurts, Scott." Derek says as he walks in. Isaac, Erica, and I follow after him as we walk on the cold ice surface. "I mean, if you're going to review me, at least take a consensus." Derek turns to Erica. "Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"   
        "Hm..." Erica hums as she steps up. "In a word,  _transformative._ "   
        Erica lets her fangs out and growls.  
        "Isaac?" Derek asks and Isaac steps forward.   
        "Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I'm great." Isaac answers. "Diana sure knows how to keep a fugitive well fed."   
        "Diana? Do you have an opinion to offer?" Derek asks me. I could sense from his stare what he wanted me to say. Scott stare told me to answer otherwise.   
        "There's never a dull moment," I respond honestly. "It's all fun and games with this one."   
        My comment made Isaac and Erica smirk and Derek to restrain rolling his eyes.   
        "Okay, hold on." Scott exclaims. "This isn't a fair fight."   
        "Then go home, Scott." Derek tells him. He gives Erica and Isaac a nod and they make their way to Scott. I step forward to stop them but Derek holds me back  
        "I meant fair for them," Scott states as he punches the ice rink and cracks it. He was wolfed out, claws and all.   
        Scott gains the upper hand pretty quickly. He throws Isaac against the wall and slams Erica down to the floor. I struggle against Derek's arms, my wolf and myself not liking the sight of her betas being thrown around. She didn't like how the people she cared about were fighting against each other.  
        It was two against one and the battlefield was slippery ice. Scott and Isaac were always fighting each other and occasionally Erica stepped in too. Scott continued to defend himself skillfully and fought Erica and Isaac until they couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Erica and Isaac from the collar of their leather jackets and slid them in front of Derek and I. I drop to my knees and look over Isaac's and Erica's human faces searching for any big injuries.   
        "Don't you get it?" Scott asks the fallen betas. "He's not doing this for you. He's just adding to his own power, ok? It's all about him. He makes you feel like he's give you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!"   
        "It's true. It is about power." Derek answers. "But I'm not doing this just for myself. I'm doing it for, Diana. Everything I do is to protect her and myself. Don't you want to protect her?"   
        "Derek, please don't..." I whisper as I see him slowly walk up to Scott with claws extending from his hand. Derek cracks his neck and growls signaling his shift. All I could do was remain kneeling and watch Derek attack Scott without mercy. As much as I wanted to get up and defend Scott, I couldn't. My Alpha mate priorities were to the unconscious betas at my feet.   
        Scott tries his best to defend himself but it was useless against Derek. He was an Alpha with years of combat training. He clawed and punched Scott repeatedly and Scott was fading fast. Derek grabs Scott and slams him on the floor. The scent of blood filled the air. Derek places his foot on Scott's throat and I heard him gasp for air.   
        "That's enough, Derek!" I growl as I stand up. My eyes turn red in the darkness of the ice rink and I could feel a howl wanting to erupt from my throat. Derek turns to me and releases Scott. He makes his way to me but I shove myself past him and run towards Scott. I slide on my knees as I reach him checking all of his wounds. Boyd finally steps out of the zamboni and makes his way to us.   
        "Don't," Scott warns him. "You don't wanna be like them."   
        I close my eyes knowing his warning was too late. Boyd gives him the final blow to Scott's failure tonight as he reveals the bite on his side.   
        "You're right," Boyd tells him. "I wanna be like you."   
        Boyd heads over to Derek and the rest of the pack.   
        "Diana, let's go." Derek yells to me. I shake my head and help a wincing Scott up.   
        "I'm staying with Scott," I shout back.   
        "He's not your concern." Derek responds.   
        "He is, Derek. He always has been." I state. "I don't care that he's not in our pack. He's injured and I'm not going to stand by and let him bleed to death. He's a werewolf. He's one of us and I'm going to help him."   
        "If he's not with us, he's against us." Derek growls at me as he steps forward with red eyes. I step forward as well meeting his challenge.   
        "He's against _you_ , not _me_." I tell him. "I will stand with you for everything else but this... hurting Scott... this is where I draw the line. You don't hurt kids, Derek. Not this badly."  
        Derek's eye flicker to his normal green and he steps away from me. Guilt seemed to be written all over his face but I couldn't be so sure.   
        "I'm sorry..." he whispers.   
        "I'm not the one who you should be apologizing to." I tell him. I walk past Derek and the pack and made my way out of the ice rink. Scott was barely conscious and was bleeding pretty badly. There was only one place that could help him and only one person I could trust. 

**************

        I try my best in carrying Scott into the Clinic. The lights were on and I was wondering why Deaton was here so late. Scott was back to his human state and was awake. His wounds were slowly healing.   
        "Why aren't I healing?" Scott asks as we enter Deaton's office.   
        "Because it's from an Alpha." Deaton answers. Scott and I gasp as we see the dead body that was laid out on the table in front of us.   
        "What in the hell is that?" I ask. "And what in the hell is it doing here?"   
        Deaton ignores my question and stares at Scott.   
        "I think maybe we better have that talk now." 


	26. Abomination

_"I think maybe we better have that talk now."_

        Deaton quickly starts pulling out medical supplies as Scott lifts his shirt to show his slowly healing injuries. I could see that he was in a rush and I didn't know why. He hadn't given either of us any sort of explanation. Scott was waiting to hear how he knew about us while I wanted to know why he had a dead body on his medical table meant for animals.   
        "They're coming back, so we don't have much time to talk." Deaton states as he grabs cotton balls and dip them in clear liquid.   
        "What is that?" Scott asks nervously.   
        "Rubbing alcohol. You don't want it to get infected, do you?" Deaton answers obviously. Scott nods at that and Deaton gets back to work. "You will heal the same, just not as quickly, because of Derek."  
        "Okay, how do you know all this? Actually, how - How do you know anything?" Scott asks him.   
        "It's a longer story. What I can tell you, is that I know about your kind. Your kind? I can help." Deaton answers as he bandages Scott and turns to the body on the table. "This. This is something different."  
        "Do you know what did it?" I ask him.  
        "No. But the Argents will. And this is the crucial part, they'll have a record or book. It'll have descriptions, histories, notations, of all the things that they've discovered." Deaton tells us. "Diana, you know what I'm talking about."   
        "It's going to be a hell to find it though." I answer.   
        "All the things?" Scott asks still clinging to that idea. "How many different things are there?"  
        I hear the roaring engine in the parking lot cutting off any continuation of our discussion. Deaton quickly puts everything away and I move to help Scott hide to the other room. Before I could get to far, Deaton grabs a hold of my arm.   
        "They know about me, Diana." Deaton states. "It's not safe to stay with me anymore."   
        "I'm never safe anywhere I go, Deaton." I tell him. "I've always known that."   
        Deaton nods at that and I close the door to the kennels right as I hear the doors jingle due to an entrance. Scott and I hide along the wall as we hear footsteps walk into the clinic.   
        "I'm starting to think I need to buy a more prominent _"closed"_ sign." Deaton states to the intruders.  
        "Hello, Alan. It's been a while." Gerard replies. "The last I heard, you had retired."  
        "Last I heard you followed a code of conduct." Deaton remarks.  
        "If you hadn't noticed, this body is one of ours." Chris pipes in ignoring the rising tension.   
        "I did," Deaton answers. "I also noticed the gunpowder residue on his finger tips. So don't assume I will be swayed by your philosophy just 'cause I'll answer a few questions."   
        "He was only 24." Chris replies sadly.  
        "Killers come in all ages..." Deaton responds.  
        "All ages, sizes, shapes. It's the last one that concerns us." Gerard states coldly.  
        "How about you tell us what you found?" Chris asks him.   
        "See this cut?" Deaton asks them. I peak in slightly seeing the location of the cut was the back of the hunter's neck. "Precise. Almost surgical. This isn't the wound that killed him. This had a more interesting purpose."  
        "Relating to the spine." Gerard comments.  
        "That's right. Whatever made this cut, it's laced with a paralytic toxin, potent enough to disable all motor functions." Deaton explains. He then gestures to the chest where the deep lacerations were located. "These are the cause of death. Notice the patterns on each side."  
        "Five for each finger." Chris states.   
        "Each claw." Gerard corrects.  
        "As you can see, it dug in, slashed upward, eviscerating the lungs and slicing through the bone of the rib cage with ease." Deaton tells them.  
        "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Chris asks him.  
        "No."   
        "Any idea at all what killed him?" Chris asks.  
        "No." Deaton answers again with a concerned expression. "But I can tell you it's fast, remarkably strong, and has the capacity to render its victims essentially helpless within seconds."  
        "If you're saying we should be cautious? We get it." Chris states.  
        "I'm saying you should be afraid. Be very afraid. Because in the natural world, predators with paralytic toxins use them to catch and eat their prey. This prey wasn't eaten. That means whatever killed him only wanted to kill him. In fact, killing may be its only purpose."  
        I knew his warning was directed to us. Scott and I shared a worried expression. Whatever was roaming Beacon Hills was more dangerous and stronger than all of us and we didn't know what it was. 

****************

         _He kneed my stomach and I gasped for air. I barely dodged his punch and managed to roll under his kick. I was losing stamina and any chance of winning this fight. I blocked and avoided any kind of attack not being able to throw a punch on my own. As I expected, I became distracted and Marcos manages to swing his leg under me causing me to fall on my back and knocking the air out of my lungs once again. I tried to breathe but my lungs screamed for more air, my throat was dry, and my muscles and bones ached.  
        "Again," Marcos orders.   
        I shake my head as I closed my eyes. I sit up and place my hands on my knees.   
        "I need a break, Marcos." I state. "I'm tired and hurt."   
        "A werewolf or wendigo won't give you a break because _ ** _you're tired or hurt_** _." Marcos tells me seriously. I roll my eyes at him and ignore his offered hand to help me up. I shakily stand on my own and shove past him. "Where do you think you're going, Diana?"  
        "I'm getting a fucking drink of water, Marcos." I answer annoyed. "And then I'm going to take an ice bath to relieve my sore muscles."   
        "No, we're going at this again until you manage to beat me." Marcos exclaims.   
        "Fuck off," I growl opening the water bottle and taking a long drink. I start to walk away and I should have known that Marcos was not going to take that easy.   
        "Diana!" he shouts. "You are weak and pathetic and a waste of time! You'll never get initiated if you give up this easily!"   
        I quickly grab a dagger from the set that was laid out on the table and turned and threw at him. The dagger flies through the air and pins into the wall behind Marcos. He didn't even flinch but soon his hand went up to his ear where a small cut started to bleed red.   
        "You cut me," Marcos comments in shock. "You could have killed me!"   
        "That's not what I was aiming for," I answer.  
        "You're aim is improving, _ ** _mija._** _"  
        I look up and find the source of the voice in the balcony above the courtyard that Marcos and I have been training on ever since they brought me here. It's been a few weeks and here was the woman I've been waiting to see ever since I came here.   
        "Gracias, _ ** _abuela_** _."_

        I was sparring with Boyd and Erica showing them the basic maneuvers and breaking down simple attacks. Yet they weren't fully focusing on me and I knew it had to do with Derek's training with Isaac. Since Isaac had gone through a full moon already, he had already received all the perks of being a werewolf. Boyd and Erica had certain perks but not all of them hence why they were training with me today but it wasn't as entertaining as the training Derek was conducting.  
        Derek having the freedom of a big empty warehouse was able to create a small course for Isaac to pass through and then reach Derek for a final attack. In the past hour, he's failed. I could see what he was doing wrong after a minute his training started and Derek did too but didn't tell him anything. I continued to attempt to teach Boyd and Erica but their attention was divided and I gave up.  
        We were all now sitting on the ledge watching Isaac run the course. He made the same flips and repeated the same runs. Finally, Isaac would use the wall to jump and attack Derek but as always Derek caught him and threw him into the ground. Isaac did this over and over again. This time Erica decided to help him. As Isaac got pushed down again, Erica lunged for Derek but was caught and thrown beside Isaac.   
        Derek just glares annoyed at Isaac and I knew his patience had reached it's limit. I stood up from my seat next to Boyd and made my way down the stairs. I shrugged off my jacket and revealed my tank top.   
        "Does anyone know the definition of insanity?" I ask them. Everyone shakes their head and Derek remained silent wanting to see where I was leading the conversation to. "It means doing the same things over and over again expecting a different result." All my betas looked at me confused, missing the point. "In conclusion, I'm sorry Isaac...but you're insane."   
        "Thanks a lot..." Isaac grimaces.   
        "The same runs, the same jumps, the same attacks..." I list off. "They can be remembered and that will put you at a disadvantage with your enemy. They will defeat you in seconds."   
        "She's right," Derek agrees with me. "Does anyone wanna try not being completely predictable?"  
        All of a sudden, Erica lunges at Derek and begins to kiss him. Derek seemed surprised but quickly reciprocates the kiss. A burning sensation pained my throat and I let out a growl. I grab Erica and throw her back in the ground.  
        "That's the last time you do that." I order as my red eyes shown.   
        "Why?" Erica asks. "You two are clearly not together."  
        I step back as I hear that and allow my eyes to return to normal. I ignore Derek's stare and look away from all of them.   
        "Diana's right," Derek states wiping off his mouth.   
        "Why?" Erica asks again but to him. "Because I'm a beta?"  
        "Yes, one of the reasons," Derek tells her.  
        "You're not his mate, Erica." I answer. "I am and I'm his  _Alpha_ mate."  
        "Besides I have someone else in mind for you." Derek explains to her.   
        "Are we done?" Isaac asks and I knew he was not liking the tension between Erica, Derek and I. "I got about a hundred bones that need a few hours to heal."  
        "Come here." Derek says as he kneels in front of Isaac. I was surprised at his tenderness but it all became clear soon. "A hundred and one." Derek states as he cracks Isaac's wrist.  
        Everyone became silent and I could sense their fear so clearly. I quickly shove Derek out of the way and grab Isaac's wrist. I place it back in place and turn to Derek with a glare.   
        "Are you out of your mind?" I exclaim. "What are you doing?"  
        "Do you think I'm teaching you how to fight?" Derek asks in which all the betas look away in fear. "Huh? Look at me! I'm teaching you how to survive!"  
        "If they wanted us dead why aren't they coming for us now?" Isaac asks, his wrist now healed. "What are they waiting for?"  
        "I don't know." Derek answers. "But they're planning something. And you, especially, know that's not our only problem. Whatever that thing is that killed Isaac's father, I think it killed someone else last night. Until Diana and I find out what it is, you all need to learn everything that we know. As fast as we can teach you."   
        Derek motions for Isaac to stand up and try again. Isaac hesitates and Derek's glare grows. I step into his line of vision and place my hand on his chest and push him back. Derek looks at me curiously.   
        "Let me try," I tell him in which Derek just sighs. He opens his mouth to say no but I stop him. "They might learn something if they see how it's supposed to be done."   
        "You always beat me." Derek states.   
        "You're an Alpha now," I reply making my way to the end of the course. "Maybe it'll give you some kind of extra boost."   
        I could sense everyone's stare as I reached to the beginning of the course. I walk to the wall and start to sprint. I flip over the first obstacle run through the stacked boxes but unlike Isaac, instead of attacking Derek so obviously, I opt to jump to a beam above us and climb over it.   
        "What the hell is she doing?" I hear Boyd asks.   
        "She's expanding her battleground." Derek answers and I knew he was looking for me. I quietly walk on the beam making sure to not let anyone see me. I quietly land a few feet behind Derek and I noticed his eyes search for me everywhere. I quickly lunge at him expecting him to easily be pinned down but we roll for a couple of times before I manage to push him off of me. We both jump to our feet and circle each other.   
        "Did you guys see that?" Isaac asks surprised. "She managed to catch him off guard."   
        "Yeah all that's left is if she can actually put him down." Erica answers unamused.   
        "This is where your lessons lies, kids." I state as I continue to walk in a circle waiting for Derek to make a move. "I was taught that fighting was a very intimate dance."   
        Derek quirks his eye in surprise at my reference but I continue with my lecture.  
        "Every dance has a leader," I say. "It's your choice to lead the dance or not."  
        I continue to watch Derek, waiting for any sign.  
        "If your partner takes one step forward, you take one step back."   
        Derek takes a step towards me and I take one back.  
        "If you take one step forward, expect them to step back," I state as I step forward and Derek steps back. "But sometimes..." I say as Derek goes for a punch and I duck under it. "Your partner will move unexpectedly and step on your toes."   
        We circle each other again and I could see Derek was tired with this charade.   
        "And then after a while of waltzing around each other," I state seeing the glint in Derek's eyes. "The dance will become quick and fast and filled with fiery passion."   
        Derek takes a step forward with a punch and I block it. He kicks and I block it. Derek continues to throw punches and kicks in my direction but I block them all.   
          "And when it does, you'll have to try your hardest to keep up with your partner."   
        Derek moves to tackle me but I roll away causing him to lose his balance and I take advantage of it. I kick the back of his knees and make a quick spin move to bring him on his back.   
        "But the song will slow down." I tell them as Derek gasps for air. I carefully walk around Derek. "But the dance is far from over."   
        Derek quickly grabs my foot, causing me to become slightly unbalanced, and uses his other hand to push my stomach, causing me to fall beside him. He takes advantage and rolls on top of me, pinning my hands over my head. I quickly wrap my legs on his waist and used all of my strength to roll us over. I was now on top and I smiled as I pinned Derek's hand on the ground.   
        "You will spin, you will be out of breath, you will be tired, but the dance will end and you will always come on top."   
        "But..." Derek gasps out. "...Not for long."   
        Before I could make sense of what he said, Derek slips away from my hold. He grabs my wrists strongly and rolls us over again. He was on top and this time my wrapped legs were being used against me as he pinned me on the floor. His body was entirely over mine.   
        I look up surprised at the change of events. Derek had a slight grin on his face as he looked down at me. Our heavy breaths were intermixing with each other and both of our eyes turned red. Derek's whole demeanor changed once this happened.  
        "Leave." he orders.   
        “Wh-what?" I ask looking at him confused.    
        "Everyone leave," Derek orders again snapping towards the betas. I turn to the betas who didn't give any signs of moving. "NOW!"   
        Isaac, Erica, and Boyd scrambled to their feet and ran up the stairs. I could hear Isaac muttering about how "mommy and daddy wolf wanted some alone time," and that causes me to turn back to Derek.   
        "What's going on-?" I begin to ask as I look into his eyes who were now back to their shining green. Before I could finish my question his mouth was on mine in great hunger. My mind went blank and my body erupted in fire. I kissed him back with the same force and he slowly releases my hands from his hold. I clutch at him strongly as our kiss continued in a rapid pace. My lungs begged for air but I didn't care.   
        Derek moves to kiss my neck and nibbles on the bite mark. I arch my back at the sensation and close my eyes seeing sparks. I knew that I needed more. I wanted more than this. My hands slip under his tank top and I felt his muscles move under my fingers. I grab the end of his tank top and start to slip it up. Derek seeing what I was doing detaches from my neck and allows me to take his tank top off. I quickly start to kiss the top of his chest, up his neck, to his mouth.   
        My legs wrap around his waist and in a quick motion I roll us over so I could be on top of again. I could feel Derek grin through the kiss but I was too hungry for his lips that I ignored it. I felt his hands move under my tank top softly adding pressure to my waist and up my back. I groaned at the sensation until I heard material rip and felt cold air hit my me everywhere. I gasp at the sensation and pull out of the kiss. Realization of what we were doing hit me all at once.   
        I quickly crawl away from him and stumble onto my feet. I touch my now swollen lips as I stare at Derek in shock. We were both out of breath and looked at each other with gazes losing it’s passion.   
        “What was that about?!” I exclaim at him. “What were we doing?”   
        “I managed to subdue you,” Derek sighs out. “It’s a wolf thing and once we subdue your mates we…”   
        “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” I interrupt annoyed. “Don’t you freaking dare.”   
        “I let it get the best of me,” Derek answers. “I lost control.”   
        “Clearly,” I state. “You ripped my favorite workout shirt.”   
        I start to search through the boxes that I had finally managed to give back to Derek and pull out one of his shirts and put it on.  
        “What’s the point of giving me back my clothes if you’re going to take them?”   
        “You ripped my shirt. This is the least you can do.” I tell him.   
        “Yes, I went out of control but you did too.”   
        I scoff at that but Derek’s stare narrows.   
        “I’m not sitting here shirtless for a reason.” Derek states. I roll my eyes at him as I grab my jacket and put it back on.   
        “I’m going to forget what happened today and go do my usual workout before going to work.” I say as I make my way up the stairs. "Freakin' imprinting... I hate it."   
        “What am I supposed to do?” Derek shouts up at me.  
        “I would recommend a cold shower.”

***************

        I wait for Marian outside her office and she finally came in. Once she [catches sight of me](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=188994394) her expression turned suspicious. I just smiled at her as she unlocked her door.   
        “You’re going to blow my cover.” she tells me. "Gerard's being very suspicious..."  
        “Well it’s just a matter of time, really.” I reply as I walk into her office after her. “The Argents found out about Deaton. It won’t be long for them to find out about you.”   
        "What are you doing here, Diana?” Marian asks narrowing her eyes at me.   
        “I overheard in the faculty’s office that you’re going to be talking to Lydia Martin today.” I state. “I need to know what she tells you.”   
        “I follow a set of rules, Diana.” Marian replies. “It’s doctor-patient confidentiality, I’m not going to betray that.”   
        “We all know that something’s out there killing people,” I tell her in which she sighs. “Peter bit Lydia, I have reason to believe that she could be a part of this. That she could be the one killing people.”   
        “Do you not have any other leads?” she asks me. I shake my head. Marian sighs as she sits down on her chair. “Fine, but with one condition.”   
        “Which is?” I ask her.   
        “That you use your werewolf hearing to listen in from afar and you let me do my job.”   
        “I can do that,” I say in which she just sighs and shakes her head.  
        “Very well,” Marian says sitting back in her chair. “Now leave, so I can start this meeting. She’s already waiting for me outside.”   
        I rolled my eyes doubting that she knew Lydia was already here but as I exited her office, the red-headed girl was waiting outside. Marian walks out with me and turns to Lydia.   
        "Are you ready, Lydia?” she asks her. Lydia seemed entirely unhappy and walks inside. Marian shuts the door and I take a seat outside, listening in.    
         _"You're not even French, are you?”_ Lydia asks her.  
         _"French Canadian.”_ Ms. Morrell replies.  
         _"Which means you're a Canadian.Who speaks French.”_ Lydia corrects. _"And seeing as I'm placing my mental health in your hands, how about you tell me what, as a French teacher, qualifies you to be a guidance counselor.”  
        "I have a masters in behavioral psychology and have done over three-hundred hours of field work.” _Ms. Morrell tells her.  
         _"Hm. C'est va bien.”  
         "If you're really fine, what are you doing here?”_ Ms. Morrell asks her.  
         _"Appeasing my parents, so they don't take away my car keys.”_ Lydia answers.  
         _"Have you talked to your friends about what happened to you?”_ Ms. Morrell asks.  
         _"Yeah, they're great. Totally supportive.”  
        "Do you trust them?”_ Ms. Morrell asks her.  
         _“Implicitly.”  
        "Good. But, still be cautious.”_ Ms. Morrell warns her.  
         _“Why?”_ Lydia asks her. _"Because sometimes the people closest to you can be the ones holding you back the most?”  
        _ I shiver as I hear the phrase and I didn’t know why.   
         _“Indeed.”_ Ms. Morrell agrees. _"Did you read that somewhere?”  
        "I don't know.”_ Lydia replies quietly. _"Maybe I heard it.”  
        _I could hear Marian sigh and I knew that wasn’t a good sign.  
         _"Well, sounds like whoever said it left an impression.”  
        _They set up another meeting for later on that week. Lydia leaves not bothering to look back and I sneak back into Marian’s office.   
        “Something’s wrong with her, isn’t there?” I ask her. “I can’t catch any scent of her being a werewolf.”   
        “You of all people know there are thousands of things out there. There’s a chance that Lydia isn’t what you’re looking for."  
        “I also know that she could be exactly what’s killing people.” I reply. “I’m not going to do anything until I know for sure what we’re looking for. I need to find a bestiary.”   
        “The Argents…” Marian starts to say but I wave my hand to stop her.  
        “Scott is on that right now.” I tell her. “But it can be anywhere. I might need to hack into my family’s server. Get a copy of our bestiary.”   
        “That’s very dangerous, Diana.”   
        “I know…but if Scott doesn’t pull through, then I might have to risk exposure.”

****************

        I was on my way back to my office after talking to Ms. Morrell when I see Stiles sprinting past me. I didn’t bother to ask him what was wrong since he was gone in a flash. I continued walking and there he was again, sprinting past me. I brushed it off again until he ran past me the third time and I caught him before he could leave.  
        “What the hell are you doing?” I ask him. Stiles was out of breath and panting. He held a finger up to me until he was able to stand up straight. “I’m acting as messenger for star-crossed lovers Scott and Allison.”  
        “Please tell me they’re talking about the bestiary.”   
        “Thank God,” Stiles exclaims. “You know what that is. Those two…those two thought…”  
        “Yeah, I know what else that sounds like.” I say cutting Stiles off. “So any progress with getting the book? Does Allison know where her’s is?”  
        “She’s seen her grandfather with a leather bound book.”  
        “Do we know where?” I ask him.   
        “I’m about to go find that out.” Stiles then sprints down the hall through the front doors. I wait patiently for him as he sprints back. Once again, he was out of breath and I hand him the extra inhaler I have in my pocket for him to use. "She says...Has to be…Office.”  
        Stiles then takes off to tell Scott and then he started to sprint back down the hall. After a while he starts to jog back to me.  
        “So?” I ask him as I allow him to catch his breath.   
        “She can’t get the book without his keys.” Stiles tells me.   
        “Easy, steal his keys.” I state.   
        “Is stealing your only answer?” Stiles sarcastically asks.   
        “It’s the only answer I need,” I respond. “Make up a plan and get the book.”   
        “Are you going to help us?” Stiles asks me.  
        “I am helping,” I state. “I’m distracting Derek from finding out what you know.”   
        “I saw it…” Stiles tells me. “I saw it with my own eyes last night.”   
        “Don’t tell me anything about it.” I state. “I’ll be forced to tell Derek and it’ll just be a mess.”   
        “You’re going to the game tonight right?” Stiles asks me.  
        “Of course, I’m going.” I tell him. “It’s part of my job.”   
        “Right, completely forgot about that.” Stiles mutters. “Semi-finals, get excited!”   
        “Stiles, you should probably tell Scott what you found out.”   
        Once he heard this, he sprinted down the hall to find Scott. I chuckle at the teenage human kid and walk back into my office. I was hoping to find it empty but I find Gerard sitting at my desk. Ice ran in my veins as I closed the door to my office and close the blinds.   
        “Mr. Gerard, I didn’t expect to see you today.”   
        “We work together. It’s bound to happen.”   
        “Well, you’re in my office so I doubt it was coincidence.” I tell him. Gerard stands up and walks towards me. I caught a scent of lingering death but didn’t comment on it. “Let me guess, you want me to sign a doctor’s note so you can go back home?”   
        “Haha, funny…but no.” Gerard chuckles lowly. “Though I can offer that to you. I’ve heard your father and brother have been looking for you. Your grandmother has sent word to all the hunters that they can’t kill you. She wants that honor herself.”   
        “So you’re not here to kill me,” I clarify. “What do you want from me then?"  
        “I want a favor,” Gerard states searching his pocket. He pulls out a pill container, spills the pills on his hand and quickly takes them. I grab the pitcher and pour him a cup of water. He drinks it slowly as I wait for him to continue. “I don’t want it now but later.”   
        “May I know what that favor is?” I ask him.   
        “Not until I need you to do it will you know what I want.” Gerard states as he pats my cheek mockingly. I glare at him but he just smiles at that. His touch is then replaced by the cold metal feeling of a blade as it ran from my cheek down to my neck over my mate mark.   
        “You're gonna do me a favor one of these days and you're gonna do it, because if you don't, this knife goes into that crazy teenage boy you were talking to today.” Gerard threatens. “And unlike Scott, he can’t heal.”  
        “He’s just an innocent kid.” I growl at him. “You have a code.”   
        “And so did you,” Gerard whispers back at me. “But you broke that code seeing that you’re still alive and mated.” Gerard grins at me and I held back a shiver. “Mated to a wolf that’s family you allowed to die.”   
        The blade disappears from my skin and he puts it back in his coat pocket. My heart was speeding and tears threatened to fall but I calmed down once the blade was gone.   
        "I truly believe that it's so much easier when bad things don't have to happen to good people.” Gerard states. "Don't you agree?”  
        I nod as my throat was to constricted to talk.   
        “Good,” Gerard states making his way out of my office. “I’ll see you at the game tonight, Didi.”  
        I felt the oncoming feelings of a panic attack. I slip down to the tile floor as  I gasp for air. Claws extended from my hand which caused me to panic more. I take a deep breath and then another and then another. I will myself back to normal and let the tears finally fall. 

***************

        The lacrosse game had a rough start. Most of our starters were sent back to me and then to the paramedics too injured to continue to play. Coach was shaking in anger as we were losing badly.   
        "Come on!” he shouts. “Is that thing even a teenager? I wanna see a birth certificate! Who or what is that genetic experiment gone wrong?”  
        Stiles who was sitting beside me as usual pipes in with an answer.  
        "Eddie Abramovitz, Coach.” Stiles tells Coach. "They call him, _The Abomination._ ”  
        "Oh, that's cute.” Coach mutters.  
        Another player is sent back to me but it was a clear that he had a broken arm. I wasn’t doing much since every person sent to me was immediately sent to the paramedics. From the corner of my eye, I see Allison managing to get a hold of Gerard’s jacket. She checks the pockets and pulls out the keys. I nudge Stiles to go ahead and go get them. He does so and I continue watching the game.   
        It wasn’t until I scanned the crowd once more did I notice Boyd and Erica on the crowd. Erica seeing Stiles leaving caused her to stand up and disappear. I silently curse and get out of my seat.   
        “I need to go get more ice…” I tell Coach before grabbing my cooler and walking off the field. I drop the cooler off at my office and search for Stiles at Gerard’s office but find it empty. I hear the closing of doors nearby and make my way towards them. I walk into the school’s pool and find Erica dragging Stiles in.   
        "Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh.” Stiles mutters as Derek steps in with a basketball in his hand.  
        “Stiles,” Derek states.  
        “Derek,” Stiles replies back.  
        “What’s going on?” I ask Derek as I make my way to his side. Derek motions to Stiles.  
        "He saw the thing that's killing people," Derek tells me. "What did you see at the mechanic's garage?”   
        "Uh, several alarming EPA violations that I'm seriously considering reporting.” Stiles sarcastically answers. Derek extends his claws and punctures the basketball flat.  
        "Holy God.” Stiles mutters.  
        "Let's try that again.” Derek orders. I nod at Stiles to confess what he saw and he just sighs.  
        “All right,” Stiles says turning back to Derek. “The thing was pretty slick looking. Um, skin was dark. Kind of patterned. Uh, I think I actually saw scales. Is that enough?”  
        Derek and Erica just glare at him and so he continues.   
        "Hrr. All right, fine, eyes. Eyes are, um, yellowish. And slitted. Um, has a lot of teeth. Oh. And it's got a tail, too.” Stiles blabbers on. I catch sight of a shadow and slowly look up at the ceiling. My hand grasps Derek as he see’s the same thing I do. The most disfigured creature I’ve ever seen.  
        "Are we good?” Stiles asks us but pauses. "What? Wait, have you seen it? You have this look on your faces like you know exactly what I am talking about.”  
        The beast jumps down from the balcony it was on and Derek’s hold on my hand tightens. He crouches and growls at the creature. Erica attempts to attack the reptilian monster but is quickly thrown to the wall and is soon unconscious.  
        “Run!” Derek shouts as he pushes me back. I grab Stiles to make him move and Derek was guarding me as I did this. Derek attempts to fight the reptilian beast but it was too quick and he disappears instantly. I turn back to Derek seeing a cut on the back of his neck.   
        "Derek, your neck…” I whisper. Instantly Derek places a hand over the cut and starts to stumble back. I grab on to him and start to help him move along the side of the pool. Stiles was beside me looking around.  
        "Where is it? Can you see it?” Stiles asks behind me.   
        “I can smell it,” Derek answers as he turns to us. He takes a step but I can see his balance shift. "Call Scott!"   
        Stiles starts to fumble for his phone and accidentally shoves Derek and I into the pool.   
        "Stiles!" I shout as we hit the cold water and start to sink. Water quickly rushes into my lungs as I try to pull Derek over to the surface. Stiles comes out of nowhere and grabs my side and helps me up. We all burst out of the water and take deep breaths. It was obvious now that Derek was paralyzed from the neck down and we had no idea where the creature was.  
        "Where did it go?” I ask trying not to get a mouthful of water. “Does anyone see it?”  
        “No.” Derek answers.  
        "Okay, maybe it took off.” Stiles replies. The creature then lets out a pitching scream.  
        "Maybe not.” I mutter. The creature was nowhere to be seen and we all remained floating unsure of what to do next.   
        "You have to get me out of here before I drown.” Derek exclaims. Stiles scoffs at my side. The way we were floating was interesting. Derek was holding on to me to stay afloat. I was holding on to Stiles to keep myself and Derek afloat. In conclusion if either of us left, the other two would sink.  
        "You're worried about drowning?” Stiles asks him. "Did you notice the thing out there with multiple rows of razor sharp teeth?”  
        "Did you notice I'm paralyzed from the neck down in eight feet of water?!” Derek exclaims.  
        “Did you two idiots notice that your screaming fest is happening with me being in the middle of it?!” I shout annoyed. I hiss as I hitch Derek higher which causes Stiles to bob a bit before stabilizing.   
        "Okay. I don't see it.” Stiles says as he looks around. We all start to swim to the edge but the reptilian creature comes back.         
        "Wait, wait, wait, stop, stop.” Derek exclaims. The creature just walks on the side of the pool looking at us.  
        "What's it waiting for?” Stiles asks us. The creature places it’s clawed hand on the water but it seems to sting him and it pulls away.  
        “Did you see that?” Stiles asks us. "I don't think it can swim.”  
        “Then our best bet is to stay in the water. He can’t get us here.” I tell them.   
        “Great, I’ll get all pruny and wrinkly,” Stiles complains.  
        “Stiles,” Derek growls annoyed. Stiles opens his mouth to say something back but I let both of the boys go.   
        “Why is it that I always find myself in trouble with you two?” I ask to no one in particular. They splutter in the water for a bit before I bring them back up.   
        “Okay, that was just plain mean,” Stiles exclaims.   
        “Agreed,” Derek says on the other side of me.   
        “I think that’s the first time you two have ever come into some sort of agreement.” I state. They both glare at me but I ignore them. The creature continued to walk around us and I was quickly growing tired.   
        "Okay, I don't think I can do this much longer.” Stiles says tiredly.  
        “I can’t hold Derek on my own,” I whisper back. “I need help.”   
        Stiles looks over the edge of the pool where his phone was located. He must have dropped it when we all fell into the pool. Stiles turns back to us and then back at the phone.   
        "No, no, no. Don't even think about it.” Derek growls out.  
        "Would you just trust me this once?” Stiles asks him.  
        “No.” Derek answers.  
        “Diana?” he asks me.  
        “Sorry Stiles, but this time consider me untrusting.”   
        “I'm the one keeping both of you alive, okay, have you noticed that?” Stiles asks. “Me?” he emphasizes.  
        "Yeah. And when the paralysis wears off, who is gonna be able to fight that thing, you or me?” Derek asks him. "You don't trust me I don't trust you. You need me to survive, which is why you are not letting me go.”  
        “He’s right Stiles.” I tell him. “I’m not letting go of Derek because I know he’s right.”   
        Stiles looks back at his phone and then back to us. I could see he already made up his mind.   
        “Stiles!” I shout before my head goes under water. My hold on Derek was slipping and his body fell entirely over mine as we hit the bottom. I tried to push us back to the surface but I was too weak and he was too heavy. After a while, I felt myself being pulled upwards and see Stiles coming back for us.   
        "Tell me you got him.” Derek gasps out once we were able to breathe. Stiles doesn’t say anything and I groan at the failure.  
        “Stiles, remind me to never trust you with my life again.” I mutter.   
        “You don’t mean that,” Stiles sighs out. I shake my head at him as we continued trying to stay afloat.   
        “How long have we been in here?” I ask.  
        “An hour or two it seems,” Stiles replies. “This whole supernatural demon almost killing me is making wonders to my fitness.”   
        “Stiles, this is not the time for jokes.” I whimper as my arms start to cramp up. “I can't stay up any longer, I need something to hold on to.”   
        Stiles looks over to the diving board and a set of bars that laid under it.   
        “I’ve got an idea,” Stiles says looking back at me. I shake my head and I knew Derek was opposing the idea as well.   
        “That’s across the pool, Stiles.” Derek tells him. “We’re not going to make it.”   
        “Well we have to try,” Stiles says before grabbing on to me and starting to lead me down the pool. I struggle to stay over water and it was harder to focus on that and Derek. Stiles lunges for the bars but misses them entirely. Our one shot to remain afloat fails and we all start sinking down.  
        In a flash, I feel myself being pulled out with great force and landing on the cement floor. Derek and Stiles land next to me and I groan from the lack of air and pain. I slowly sit up and help Derek as well.  
I notice Scott fight the creature and doing better than any of us did. At some point he grabs a piece of a shattered mirror, one that Erica had broken with her impact earlier, and points it at the creature. The creature stares at it’s reflection curiously and stops any move of attacks. All of a sudden it disappears. I look back at Derek seeing him holding himself up on his own and the look on his face showed that he knew what I knew.

****************

        After the whole pool incident, I changed out of my wet clothes to the dry spare ones I had in my car. Derek followed me since I also had some of his clothes in the trunk of my car. I turn to look for Scott and Stiles and find them looking at a computer. A usb was sticking out of it and I realized that the Argents upgraded their bestiary like my family had.  
        "How are we supposed to figure out what this thing is?” Scott asks loudly. Derek and I make our way towards them.  
        "It's called a kanima.” Derek tells them.  
        "You knew the whole time?” Stiles asks us.  
        “No.” Derek answers.  
        “We figured it out when it was confused by its own reflection.” I explain.  
        "It doesn't know what it is.” Scott says in realization.  
        "Or who.” Derek states.  
        "What else do you know?” Stiles asks.  
        "Just stories, rumors…” Derek tells them.  
        “I encountered one once in Mexico.” I say remembering that day. “But it disappeared…”   
        "But it's like us?” Scott asks us.  
        "A shapeshifter, yes, but it's- it's not right.” Derek tries to explain. "It's like a…”  
        "An abomination.” Stiles concludes. We nod at the description. Erica was back with us now so Derek motioned for us to start heading out.  
        “Diana? Derek?” Scott calls out. "We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents.”  
        "You trust them?” Derek asks him offended.  
        "Nobody trusts anyone!” Scott exclaims. "That's the problem. While we're here, arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger and faster than any of us, and it's killing people and we still don't even know anything about it.”  
        "I know one thing,” Derek says stepping towards Scott. “When I find it? I'm gonna kill it!”

*************** 

        Derek drove back to my place wanting to make sure that I wasn’t being followed by hunters or the kanima. Isaac was waiting for us at the porch of my cabin but before we could join him, I decide to talk to Derek privately.   
        “You’re not serious about killing the kanima, are you?” I ask him. Derek’s blank expression didn’t give away anything. “I mean… this is a teenager, we’re talking about. There must be a way to save it.”   
        “No one’s going to miss Jackson.” Derek states. This caused me to double-back. What did Jackson have to do with anything?  
        “Jackson? I’m talking about Lydia.” I respond in which Derek just looks away from me. “You bit Jackson? When were you going to tell me this?”   
        “Nothing happened to him.” Derek states. “He has to be the kanima.”   
        “Lydia was bit by Peter and nothing has happened to her.” I also argue. “If the bite doesn’t kill you, it has to turn you. So what are they?”   
        “The two most cold-blooded people had to be bitten…” Derek mumbles.   
        “What does that have to do with anything?” I ask him.  
        “The bite brings to light who you really are,” Derek explains.   
        “Ok…so that means I’m an animal?” I ask him. “That my spirit animal is a literal wolf.”   
        “No, maybe. Look what does the wolf symbolize to you?” Derek asks me.   
        “A wolf is an animal. Runners, predators, they follow the moon.” I list off. “I …uh, they’re strong and fast. I don’t know what else.”   
        “They’re hunters.” Derek states out of the blue causing my heart to stop momentarily. His hand grabs a hold of mine and I look away from his gaze. “Wolves are beautiful creatures and they’re free animals. Family-based by the way they gain strength from their packs."  
        “Thanks for the insight, Derek.” I whisper as I pull my hand away from his. “But I’m far from what you said."   
        “There’s also your name,” Derek says as he looks down at his empty hand. “Diana, the goddess of the moon, mother of the wolves.”   
        I couldn’t think of a response from that and Derek takes advantage of my distracted mind to place a kiss on my forehead, his lingers brushing lightly on my neck.   
        “We can’t kill an innocent teenager,” I tell Derek forgetting the previous discussion. “We can’t.”   
        I step out of the car and make my way to my cabin. Isaac sighs loudly for making him wait. I look back at Derek who still remained seated in his car. I turn back to Isaac and finally let him in. Derek in the end decides not to join us for dinner. 


	27. Venomous

        I leaned on the wall not agreeing to Derek's plan. Erica and Isaac drag a struggling Jackson into the warehouse. Boyd stood beside Derek while he just looked at the mirror shard in his hand. Fear was all I could sense from Jackson as he stared at both of us.   
        "What happened to you on the night of the full moon?" Derek asks breaking the silence.   
        "What?" Jackson asks nervously. "Nothing. Nothing happened."   
        "You're lying." Derek answers. He sighs as he places gloves on his hand and Jackson instantly turns frigid in fear.  
        "No, wait. No, wait, I can... I can prove it." Jackson stutters out. "I taped myself."  
        "You taped yourself?" Isaac asks him chuckling.  
        "Yes. It was the full moon. And maybe while you were curled in the corner having an existential crisis about turning into a monster, I was preparing for the so-called gift your big, bad Alpha promised me, and what did I get? _Nothing._ " Jackson replies. He then turns back to Derek and I. "You want proof? Let me get the video."  
        "No. No, I have a better idea." Derek answers raising the mirror shard. I sigh loudly and shake my head but as usual Derek ignored me.  
        "What is that?" Jackson asks afraid as Erica and Isaac force him to kneel. Derek walks over to Jackson taking the mirror shard with him.    
        "You know, Jackson, you've always been kind of a snake." Derek states. "And everyone knows a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom."   
        "Is this really necessary?" I ask him.   
        "We need to make sure he's the one." Derek replies. "You don't have to be here if you don't want to be."   
        I just sigh at that and allow for Derek's test to go on. Isaac forces Jackson's mouth open and Derek carefully tilts the mirror shard towards Jackson's mouth. Slowly but surely a drop of Kanima paralytic poison falls into Jackson's tongue. Automatically, Jackson starts to gag and he falls to the floor not being able to move. Derek watches Jackson slowly before sighing.   
        "You're still a snake, Jackson," Derek says kneeling in front of him. "Just not the one we're looking for."  
        "Can I say I told you so?" I ask as Derek walks past me. He just huffs in response before entering the train cart. I turn to Isaac who had a mischievous grin on his face.  
        "What are you up to?" I ask him. He just gives me a wink before kneeling in front of Jackson.   
        "You're still gonna have to do one more thing for us." Isaac tells him. "Well, actually, for me." 

****************

        I could only shake my head as I waited outside the Sheriff's office. Isaac had come up with a very faulty plan to get himself out of his fugitive mess. I escorted Jackson to revoke his confession of Isaac and now waited patiently outside the Sheriff's office waiting to hear back. It wasn't that hard to eavesdrop and know that it wasn't going very well.   
      _"So now you're telling me that you didn't see Isaac and his father arguing before the murder?"_ the Sheriff asks Jackson.   
        _"Not exactly."_ Jackson replies nervously.  
 _"Not exactly or no?"_ Sheriff Stilinski asks him. _"Because when it comes to law, there's a fairly large divide between not exactly and no. Like, if "not exactly" were sitting in this chair, then "no" would be somewhere in the middle of the pacific ocean, drowning next to my career!"_ There's a brief pause and the Sheriff takes it to calm down. _"So what's it gonna be, huh? Not exactly or no?"  
        _This was the moment of truth. If Jackson decided to go back on his word, we were all be screwed. If he did, then it was a miracle that the Sheriff actually got fooled by Jackson's obviously fake new confession.   
 _"No."_ Jackson states firmly. I hear the Sheriff sigh at this and felt bad for putting him in a bad position.   
 _"Ah, crap."_ he mutters. After a few minutes, which were filled by Jackson signing more paperwork. I was finally allowed in to see the Sheriff.   
        "It seems I owe you an apology, Ms. Ross." Sheriff greets me. "We received a false confession which has now been corrected. Isaac Lahey is free from all charges."   
        "Are you serious?" I ask him faking my happiness. "He can come home now?"   
        "Yes," Sheriff says not sharing the same glee I had. "Are you sure you want to become his legal guardian?"   
        "Of course," I answer.   
        "And I'm assuming you know of his whereabouts to tell him the good news?" Sheriff asks me. I sigh and look away at this and he takes it as a yes. "That's what I thought. You just need to sign some paperwork and he's free to come home with you."   
        "Thank you, Sheriff." I say with a small smile as I shake his hand. "I owe you a casserole or lasagna or something."   
        "Just keeping an eye out on Stiles at school is good enough for me." he replies.   
        "That I can certainly do," I say as he escorts me out of his office. I sign the last few pieces of paperwork and pull out my phone to call Isaac.   
        "It's time to pack up your bags, Isaac." I state. "You're free to come home now." 

*****************

         _Boxes surrounded me in my now empty bedroom. I saw how the leaves were turning orange right outside my window and sighed. I walked over and sat on the nook that was made just for me. The sun was dimly showing through the heavy array of clouds in the sky. I watched as Marcos placed boxes inside the moving truck. My father was nowhere in sight and I closed my eyes thankful for the brief moment of peace._  
        "Why did you have to...?" I begin to ask to the open sky. I couldn't finish my question as it got caught in my throat. "Why did you have to leave me so alone?"   
        I fought back the tears as I look around my room again. It used to be filled with pictures and drawings and other useless knick knacks. Now they were all packed away in boxes to an unknown direction. Dad wasn't giving up any details and Marcos was still in his silent treatment phase. It was obvious that they were both avoiding me for a reason, but I didn't know why.   
        I wiped away the stray tears and sighed once again. Any time soon, Marcos or my dad would come up the stairs and yell at me to starts moving things down. For the time being, I was going to take my time and enjoy the last few minutes I had in my room. I didn't want to leave. This was my home. This was the place where my mom baked chocolate chip cookies and taught me Spanish and we would run together. This was home.  
        The funeral seemed to have shifted everything. My grandmother who I never met before came and spoke to my father and Marcos. I wondered if it was her fault that we were moving now. It seemed to be an idea that came after my grandmother's visit and here I was ready to leave the only home I've ever known. My memories, my passions, my life being packed in a few boxes. We were leaving mom behind in a grave that my father said we wouldn't be seeing anytime soon.   
        "Diana, what do you think you're doing?" my father asks looking at me from my door entrance. I quickly get out of my seat and take a deep breath.   
        "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get distracted." I answer. My dad seems to be sympathetic for a while but it quickly fades away.   
        "We're leaving soon and your boxes aren't even in the truck." he states. "You need to get moving."   
        I nod and start to tape up the remainder of the open boxes. The boxes were labeled with our new name. Diana Cortez. My sadness quickly turns into anger and I snap towards my father.   
        "Why did you change our last name?" I ask him. He stops frigidly as I asked him this. "Why are you trying to wash away any trace of mom?"   
        "It's for your safety, Diana." my dad replies.   
        "Oh really? Is moving for my safety too? Is packing our lives away safe?" I ask sarcastically. "This was her idea, wasn't it? Was it grandma who convinced you to do this?"   
        "NO!" my father shouts. I stop my angry questions and my dad sighs. "It was your mother's."   
        "Why...why would she...?" I begin to ask him.  
        "She doesn't want you to be a Cruz, honey." my dad states. "There's a burden to carry with that name."    
  
        Isaac and I quickly moved all of his stuff into the guest bedroom. Derek was unhappily watching us do so as he saw his old bedroom being taken over. Any trace that Derek ever stayed here was gone. It was now Isaac's room and forever will be his room.   
        "I can't believe it worked." Isaac sighs out as he laid on his bed. Derek seemed to want to growl but I gave him a glare.   
        "Yeah, it's a miracle Jackson managed to do it." I state. "And now you're sleeping in a real bed, you're under my custody, and you're no longer a fugitive."   
        "For now..." Derek mutters.   
        "I wouldn't be Mr. Judgemental." I remark as I narrow my eyes at him. "You've been under police surveillance twice now and been a fugitive already."   
        "Well you sure know how to pick them." Derek replies back. Isaac laughs at that and I couldn't find anything else to say in return.   
        "I enrolled you back to school." I say turning to Isaac. He groans as a response.   
        "Do I have to go?" he asks.   
        "I'm not going to let you slack off in your educational duties, mister." I say patting his arms as I got up from my seat.  
        "I'll just skip." Isaac mutters under his breath. I narrow my eyes at him.   
        "I'm your legal guardian now which means you have to do as I say." I state.   
        "Let's not forget you're his Alpha too." Derek comments. "He has to do as you say."   
        "Can't you take my side for just one time?" Isaac asks Derek. He just shakes his head as a response.   
        "Not while you're staying in my room." Derek replies.   
        "This is Isaac's room." I correct him. Derek just rolls his eyes at that.   
        "Going back to the school attendance," Derek states changing the subject. "I think it's the perfect place to test Lydia. She's the only other lead we have with the kanima's true identity."   
        "We're just testing her right?" I ask him. "No harm is going to come to her?"   
        Derek hesitates to answer and looks at Isaac silently. I narrow my eyes at both of them before Derek sighs and finally turns back to me.   
        "We'll test her..." Derek tells me. "And then we'll make plans after that."   
         "That sounds good to me." I state getting up from my seat. I start to walk out of the room. "Light's out, Isaac. As for you Derek, you know where the door is. Goodnight." 

**************

        There was [a set plan](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=191161867) for the day. One that I couldn't really argue as Derek had his mind set on testing Lydia here. Scott and Stiles were obviously surprised to see Isaac back and I knew they were unhappy with that. I knew that they were also unhappy with Derek's way of doing things which was why I had to flirt my way into the chemistry lab to make sure that neither opposing werewolves got into each other's way.   
        "You're going to love this class lesson." Harris told me as he led me into his classroom. "You picked a good day to come watch."   
        "Can't wait," I say as I placed a fake smile on my face as we made our way in.   
        "Einstein once said, " _Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity; And I'm not sure about the universe."_ I myself have encountered infinite stupidity. So to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments. Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one." Mr. Harris tells his whole class but stops as he looks at Stiles. "Or in Mr. Stilinski's case, less than one. Erica, you take the first station. You'll start with..."   
        The whole class, mainly the male population and one or two girls, quickly rose their hands eagerly. Erica of course smiled in pleasure and I had to suppress a smile of my own liking the new found confidence... well to an extent.  
        "I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down." Mr. Harris states. "Start with Mr. McCall. Alright, next two..."  
        I watched as Scott and Erica talked. I couldn't hear their conversation as the room was filled with chatter. I could see things were getting intense between them and I quickly stepped in.   
        "Hey!" I whisper harshly at them. "Stop it!"   
        Erica declaws her hand from Scott's leg and Scott just shoves himself away from Erica.   
        "Switch," Harris states as he rings the bell. Scott grabs his things but before leaving whispers to me.  
        "Whatever you're thinking about doing, wait. Give me a chance to talk to Derek."   
        "We need to know, Scott." I tell him. "We need to know if Lydia's the kanima."   
        "Do you know what's he planning?" Scott asks me. I just shake my head. "He's planning to kill her after school."   
        I frown as I hear this and look at Erica and Isaac who were staring at Lydia from afar.   
        "Let's go, Mr. McCall." Harris exclaims. Scott gives me one more glance.   
        "Derek didn't tell you for a reason. He knows you wouldn't stand for this." Scott tells me. "Please help me save her."   
        I nod at that and let him go to the next station. I look up at Isaac who was sitting next to Stiles. He was doing all the work while Isaac just mindlessly stared around him.   
        "Mm, unrequited love's a bitch. Maybe you should write about it in English class, you know? Channel all that negative energy." I hear Stiles say as I walk closer to them.   
        "Nah, I was thinking I'd channel it into killing her. I'm not very good at writing." Isaac replies. I place my hand on his shoulder and he flinches as he looks up at me.   
        "So Scott was right." I state. "You're planning to kill her."   
        "Diana, I..."   
        "And switch." Harris says ringing the bell. Isaac seems to want to tell me something but I quickly walk away from him. I return back to the front of the room and didn't pay much attention to Harris attempts of conversation with me. I saw as Isaac slipped the kanima venom on the crystal as Lydia turned away.   
        "Time." Mr. Harris states loudly to the whole class. "If you've catalyzed the reaction correctly, you should now be looking at a crystal. Now for the part of that last experiment I'm sure you'll all enjoy - You can eat it."  
        I closely watched as Lydia grabbed the crystal and slowly brought it up to her lips. Before she could take a bite, Scott shoots out of his chair.   
        "Lydia!"   
        "What?" she asks annoyed. The whole room was silent and Scott couldn't find any words to say. He sat back down sheepishly.   
        "Nothing."   
        Lydia huffs at that and turns back to the crystal. She brings it back to her lips and takes a bite out of it. The whole scene seemed to have slowed down and Lydia remained standing, no paralysis setting in. I felt a different set of eyes on me and I look out the window to find Derek in the parking lot, leaning on his camaro. His eyes were trained on Lydia and then slowly settled to me as realization hit us both.   
        "So I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner..." Harris was saying beside me but I quickly stood up from my seat.   
        "I have to go," I tell him. "My boyfriend is waiting outside."    
        Hearing that, Mr. Harris quickly shut up and I started to walk out of the room. The bell soon rings to dismiss the class and before I could meet up with Derek, Isaac pulls me aside.   
        "Diana, look... I'm sorry." he states. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what Derek really intended. You took me in and you take care of me and I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me."  
        "I could never hate you, Isaac." I tell him patting his cheek. "Derek, on the other hand..."  
        "He doesn't want you to be a part of this." Isaac tells me. "He just wants you to be safe."   
        "It's too late for that now." I respond walking down the hall. "Derek can't protect me forever."   
        I didn't reach to far down the hallway before I'm being dragged into my own office. Stiles locks the door and closes the blinds. Allison looked at me unsure and Scott just looked upset.  
        "Derek's outside waiting for Lydia." Scott states.  
        "Waiting to kill her?" Allison asks.   
        "If he thinks she's the kanima, then yes, especially after what happened at the pool." Scott replies.  
        "It's not her." Stiles argues.   
        "Stiles, she didn't pass the test." I tell him. "Nothing happened."  
        "No, it can't be her." Stiles said still in denial.  
        "It doesn't matter, because Derek thinks it's her. So either we can convince him that he's wrong, or we've got to figure out a way to protect her." Allison states.  
        "He's not going to attack at school." I tell them. "It's too public for him. Too many people here, too many people watching."   
        "What about after school?" Allison asks. "What if we can prove that Derek's wrong?"  
        "By three o'clock?" Stiles asks skeptically.   
        "There could be something in the bestiary."  
        "Oh, you mean the 900-page book written in archaic Latin that none of us can read?" Stiles asks sarcastically.   
        "Yours is written in Latin?" I ask her. "Isn't your family French-based?"   
        "Yeah..." Allison mumbles. "I'm assuming you don't know Latin."   
        "No, I don't." I reply. "Spanish, French, and a bit of German, but Latin...that's too old for me, sorry."  
        "Don't worry, I think I know someone who might be able to translate it." Allison states offering us a potential lead.   
        "Uh, Diana and I can talk to Derek, maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove that it's not her." Scott pipes in. I nod in agreement to that.   
        "But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it, okay?" I ask them as I look at Stiles and Scott in worry. "Neither of you can heal like I do and neither of you can handle Derek. I just don't want you to get hurt."   
        Stiles nods knowing that from the both of them, he was human. As for Scott, it took him a while to actually accept my proposition.   
        "Derek's going to know that you've been helping us out." Scott states.   
        "I think deep inside, he already knows." I reply. "If not, Derek's must be in complete denial."  

***************

        The scent of Derek led us directly to the lacrosse field and we only saw Boyd. It was clear that he was waiting for us.   
        "I want to talk to Derek." Scott states.  
        "Talk to me." Boyd replies.   
        "I don't want to fight." Scott tells him.  
        "Good, 'cause I'm twice the size of you." Boyd responds.   
        "True." Scott says before sighing. "Really, really true. But wanna know what I think? I'm twice as fast."   
        Before I could put an end to it, Scott quickly tackled Boyd to the ground. I quickly pull them away from each other. Boyd brushes himself off angrily while Scott seemed semi-pleased for bringing down the giant.  
        "Happy now?" I ask both of them who just huffed at me.   
        "She failed the test." Derek states coming out of nowhere.   
        "Yeah, which doesn't prove anything." Scott states. "Lydia's different."  
        "I know, at night she turns into a homicidal walking snake." Derek exclaims.  
        "Either way, I'm not going to let you kill her." I tell him. "We agreed to make a plan after we tested her, not just jump into murder. You can't just kill her, Derek. We won't let you do that!"   
        "Who said I was gonna do it?" Derek asks. I look at Boyd and then back at the school. I should have known that not having the full pack was a warning sign but of course I didn't think too much of it.   
        "Are you serious?" I ask as I shove Derek backwards. "You sent Isaac and Erica to kill her! Are you out of your mind!"   
        Scott attempts to run back into the school but Boyd manages to stop him and sends Scott back into the ground. He groans and I quickly move to help him up but Derek stops me.  
        "I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Diana." Derek argues back. "Even Scott, who's not even part of our pack."   
        "I'm trying to save an innocent." Scott argues. "Lydia..."   
        "Lydia has killed people and she's gonna do it again, and next time, it's gonna be one of us." Derek states turning away from Scott and staring at me. "I need to keep the pack safe."   
        I sigh as I hear this knowing that he had a good argument for what he was doing but I still didn't like to resort to murder.   
        "What if you're wrong?" Scott asks him.  
        "She was bitten by an Alpha. It has to be her." I tell him.   
        "You saw that thing up close." Scott tells us. "You know it's not like us."  
        "But it is!" Derek exclaims. "We're all shapeshifters. You don't know what you're dealing with. It happens rarely and it happens for a reason. That's the reason why Diana is who she is, a wolf."  
        "What reason?" Scott asks him.   
        "Sometimes the shape you take reflects the person that you are. " Derek answers helping Scott off the floor. "Even Stiles calls her cold-blooded."   
        "Well, what if she's immune?" Scott asks him. "What if she's got something inside of her that makes her immune to the bite, which is why she didn't get paralyzed?"  
        "No one's immune! I've never seen it or heard of it. It's n... it's never happened." Derek exclaims.   
        "What about Jackson?" Scott asks narrowing his eyes at Derek. "That's why you tested him, isn't it? Because you gave him what he wanted, didn't you?"  
        "Scott..." Derek sighs out but Scott interrupts him.   
        "Peter said the bite either kills you or turns you. You were probably hoping that he would die."  
        "Derek... please tell me that isn't true." I state turning to him but his jaw tightened and he let out a heavy breath.  
        "But nothing happened, right?" Scott continues. "And you have no idea why, do you?"  
        "No." Derek growls out.   
        "Well, I have a theory." Scott states. "Lydia's immune, and somehow she passed it on to Jackson. You know I'm right."  
        "No!" Derek shouts in denial.  
        "You cannot do this!" I exclaim at him. "She's just a girl!"    
        "Look, I can't let her live!" Derek yells at me. "You should have known that!"  
        I stare at him in disbelief as he stared back at me upset. Neither of us wanted to back down, to subdue to the other, it was part of our Alpha nature and personal personalities.   
        "I was hoping I would convince you," Scott states breaking our staring contest gaining our attention. "But then...I wasn't counting on it."   
        I held Derek back as Scott ran out of the field. I made sure not to know about Plan B. It was our fail safe if Derek wouldn't back down. I knew I couldn't side with them all the time, this being one of those times. Derek looks at me annoyed.   
        "What is he doing?" he asks me.   
        "I have no idea." I answer honestly. "I made sure to be out of hearing distance when they concocted their own plan."    
        "You've got to be kidding me!" Derek exclaims.   
        "You made your own plans without me." I state. "You can hardly blame me for making my own." 

        *****************

        The sun had set a long time ago. It's been two hours since Scott had enacted his own plan. If it failed or not, I didn't know. All I knew was that Derek managed to track Lydia's hiding spot which wasn't hard to find since it was Scott's house. Derek parked the camaro right outside his house and we all watched them. We could distinctly see Allison and Stiles near the front windows. Lydia seemed to be nowhere in sight but she was in there with them.   
        Erica, Boyd, and Isaac stood next to me. Derek watched the house sighing. He really didn't know how to approach the situation. I didn't know what they were waiting for and I didn't know how long this would last. They couldn't stay in there forever.   
        "Isaac, check the perimeter. Once you see it clear, make your way in." Derek orders.   
        "And then what?" I ask him. "If he's going to kill Lydia he might as well take Stiles and Allison down too."   
        "I'm doing this for us!" Derek exclaims.   
        "You're doing this for you!" I shout back. "You lost against a fight with the kanima. All you want now is a chance to redeem yourself by killing it!"   
        "I was stuck, paralyzed from the neck down, in 8 feet of water, defenseless. This thing trapped us and I could do nothing to protect you." Derek exclaims. "I'm doing what's best for us. I'm trying to keep you safe."   
        "What is your incessant need to keep me safe?!" I ask him. "Every time you do it, you almost get yourself killed."   
        "I care about you, is that so hard to believe?" Derek asks back. The angry words that wanted to topple out of my mouth never came out. I stared at him in surprise trying to wrap my mind around his confession.   
        "I will not be saved," I state quietly. "Not by you."   
        "Don't mean to interrupt your lover's spat, but what exactly do you want me to do once I get in?" Isaac asks Derek.   
        "Just get to Lydia. If you can't, then Erica will join in to help."   
        Isaac nods at this and makes his way around the house. Erica waits a while and then the sounds of crashing and fighting is heard.   
        "Erica, go help him." Derek orders her.   
        Erica quickly makes her way in letting an excited growl past her lips. Boyd, unhappily stayed by our side. We still hadn't trained him as well as Isaac and Erica and his werewolf powers were still weak.   
        We hear more commotions happen within the house. There was no signs of who was winning or who was losing. Derek watched the shadows that played by the windows with interest and before we knew it the house completely turned silent. Suddenly, the doors open and two bodies are thrown out. Isaac was out cold while Erica seemed to be awake but paralyzed. I quickly come to their sides checking them for more serious injuries.  
        "I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott. You're not an omega, you're already an Alpha of your own pack." Derek states referring to Allison and Stiles that stood loyally behind him. Derek pauses and still grins up at Scott. "Diana can't protect you forever. She'll always chose the pack over you and you know you can't beat me. "   
        "I know," Scott replies. "But I can hold you off until the cops get here."   
        Derek's grin falls as we hear the distant sirens approaching our direction. I grab a hold of Derek's arm as we hear a hiss. Our eyes turn upwards and we all see the kanima crawling across the roof. It turns to us and let's out a big hiss at our direction before sprinting into darkness.   
        "Get them out of here." Derek orders me as he nods towards the pack. I shake my head at him still hating his idea of keeping me out of the fight for my own safety.   
        "No," I state. "I'm coming with you to face this thing."   
        Derek really wanted to argue and had a set scowl on his face. He was about to tell me to go back home until the entrance of a newcomer disrupted that thought.   
        "Would someone _please_ tell me what _the hell_ is going on?" Lydia asks angrily at all of us.   
        "It's not her..." I whisper to Derek. "She was innocent after all."   
        "If she's not the kanima, then who is?" Boyd asks.   
        "I don't know and I don't care." Derek growls. "We're going after it and we're going to kill it, no hesitations." 


	28. Hearts Beating

        It took everything within me to keep the lead before Derek. If he got to the kanima first, then he'll kill it. If I got to it first, I might be able to fend it off until the point it turns back and reveals its true identity. It was a race between revenge and justice. As much as I tried to convince Derek to pick the higher road, his pride blinded him resorting us to race each other to get to the kanima first.   
        We sprinted through dark alleys and under bridges. Our red eyes glowed in the pitch darkness, catching sight of the kanima's tail that was very ahead from us. I push myself farther gaining a lead on Derek. A tall fence was ahead of us and I quickly jump towards the wall and push myself of it. I flip over the fence and continue running. Derek was at my heels after flipping over the fence as well.  
        I could hear him growl behind me and I sensed him beginning to shift. My wolf clawed inside me wanting to join him in his shifting. I push her needs down and focused on my chase. My red eyes caught sight of the kanima turning and I follow after it. The kanima leads me under a bridge and I slow down as I can't catch any sight or scent of it. Derek slows down behind me and we pant tiredly.   
        "Where did the damn thing go?" he exclaims beside me as we look around.   
        I hear the clicking of claws and we both turn around to find the kanima hissing at us. Derek extends his claws and growls. I just stared at the beast in front of me glowing my red eyes at it. Derek takes a step forward shielding me from the thing but I decide to push past him and stand along side him.     
        The kanima swings at both of us and we both dodge it. I roll out of the way pulling my hidden knives out. Derek manages to kick him into my direction and I plunge the knife into its shoulder and pull it down. The kanima hisses in pain and manages to take a swipe at me. I duck but even with the injury the kanima came after me again and again. Derek noticed how I barely managed to keep up with the thing and quickly stepped in.   
        Derek pushed the kanima into the wall and went for a right swing. The kanima was fast enough to roll away and Derek broke through the cement wall. I jump at the kanima's back but it throws me off of it. Derek attacks it again but is pushed back and lands in front of me.  
        We both quickly roll back to our feet and Derek grabs a scrap of metal just in time for the kanima's attack. The reptile like beast claws at the scrap car door and pushes Derek and I back. I'm pressed against the wall and Derek is pressed in front of me. The kanima hisses at both of us loudly as Derek struggles to keep the scrap of metal between it and us. Derek manages to push the kanima off of us and throws the door aside. The kanima scrambles to it's feet and runs up the wall to the roof of the bridge.   
        Derek growls at it and the kanima in return flashes the cables of light causing sparks to fly everywhere. I pull Derek down so the light wouldn’t blind him but I got the worst of it. Blinded, I feel the claws of the kanima around my arms and feel myself being thrown through the air and falling. Derek falls beside me and I hiss as I notice the deep cuts in my arms. Derek immediately pulls me behind the cement wall and I try to stifle the pain I felt.   
        All of a sudden lights illuminate the dark bridge. Derek tries to force me back into hiding but I ignore him and find Chris Argent coming out of his car and unloading his whole gun on the stunned kanima. The beast falls to the floor and I could see Derek's unhappiness with how the situation turned out. Chris Argent looks around for us and I pull Derek down as I noticed his angry state wanting to pick a fight with the hunter.   
        "Please don't..." I whisper at him trying to ignore the pain in my arms. I groan quietly as I sit up and clutch his arms. "Stay here. Don't do something reckless."   
        Derek still had anger etched on his face but hearing my pleas he remains in the shadows with me. I would have sighed in relief if it wasn't for the sight of the kanima somehow coming back to life and attacking Chris Argent. The kanima then heads toward the dark figure that I easily recognized as Gerard.   
        "You have to get out of here." I whisper to Derek. "If  _he_ finds you, he'll kill you."   
        "I'm not leaving you here." he states.   
        "I'm healing, ok?" I answer. "I'll be fine. Just go."   
        Derek hesitates but seeing the kanima surround Gerard before Scott scared it off gave him the opportunity to chase after it without me to stop him. I slowly walk out of my hiding spot seeing Derek at a distance and look up at Gerard through the blinding lights. He just nods at me blankly and I grab the silver knife that was left behind on the floor and start to run off. 

****************

        I follow Derek's scent up to a club. It didn't pass my attention that the line consisted of mostly guys that had a heavy scent of cologne on. I hesitate going in through the front door but luckily Derek's scent led to a back door and I slipped in.   
        The club was lit by laser lights and dancing bodies everywhere. EDM music played loudly around the club and the smell of alcohol and marijuana tainted the air. Even through it all, I manage to find Derek in the back corner scowling and searching the whole scene for any sign of the kanima.   
        "You might want to tone down the scowl," I say managing to sneak up beside him. "Some of these guys might find it attractive."   
        "What?" Derek asks confused beside me.   
        "Derek, we're at a gay club." I tell him. Derek looks around and poorly fails to hide his surprise. "Did you not notice everyone in here's a guy?"   
        "If you haven't noticed I'm more focused on getting the kanima." Derek answers.  
        I couldn't help but laugh.  
        "Nothing gets past those Alpha werewolf senses, huh, Derek?" I ask him.  
        "Shut up," he growls beside me.   
        As Derek searched for the kanima, I took notice of the looks from the surrounding guys. They kept looking at Derek and for some absurd reason I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck and glaring at the surrounding men. I could feel Derek chuckle and I look up at him with a glare.   
        "Jealous?" he asks.   
        "You wish..." I mutter.   
        "Really?" he asks amused as he placed his hands on my hips. "We're at a gay club and I'm clearly straight. Is it really necessary to hold me very territorially?"   
        "Forgive me for trying to help you out." I state pushing off his chest. "God forbid you get hit on by someone and lose your chance to get the kanima."   
        "Whatever you say..." Derek taunts still holding my hips. He quickly turns me around, pressing my backside against his, and I quickly struggled in his hold. I could feel his breath beside me and I couldn't help but shiver a bit. "Don't worry, Diana. I only have eyes for you."   
        My eyes immediately turn red by the simple statement and I relaxed into Derek's arm. His lips linger on my cheek and painfully move down towards my neck. My breath unwillingly hitches and as much as I wanted to pull myself away from him, I couldn't. Something about the whole thing was enchanting. Derek almost reached the mate bite mark until he stops.   
        I snap my eyes open and turn to Derek confused as to his sudden pause. I follow his gaze and catch sight of a scaly tail before it disappeared in a mist of fog. The fog immediately engulfs the dance floor and we see the distant figure of the kanima. Derek grabs my hand and starts to pull us through the dance floor. Men danced around us, slightly grinding on us as we pushed our way through.  
        Bodies seemed to drop around us very quickly. They shook due to the paralytic toxic running in their bloodstream. Derek stops in the middle of the fallen crowd and wolfs out. Before I could even stop him, Derek attacks the distracted kanima. He slits its throat in one quick motion before grabbing my hand and pulling me away. I caught sight of a distressed Scott and Stiles that finally managed to catch up to us before Derek pulls us into the dancing crowd. 

***************

        I walk into my cabin phone at hand as I read an article about the club. The police reports and interviews to the victims were luckily covered up with a simple false truth. They of course didn't know the truth behind the events and I was thankful for that but tonight. Either way we were pretty reckless tonight. Reckless as any other night if I'm being honest.   
        I groan as I slip of my torn jacket. The dried blood stuck to my skin and it was a disgusting feeling to feel. Derek walked in behind me and was kind enough to close the door. We took notice of a sleeping Isaac on the couch and I sighed in relief at the sight. He seemed to have recovered. I slip a nearby blanket over him and turn the lights off.   
        I walk into the kitchen and find Derek making himself comfortable as he searched my fridge for food. I was too tired to fight with him and sat down on my dinning room table as I read the article out loud for him.   
        " _Seven paralyzed. The police suspect its drugs. Probably hallucinogens, since witnesses say they saw a demonic monster on the dance floor._ " I read out looking up at Derek who just sighs. "You're lucky they didn't report a wolf man and you're even more lucky they didn't find a body. Thank Stiles and Scott for cleaning up your mess as usual."  
        "I killed it, ok?" Derek exclaims. "We're done. We're safe. There's more important things to worry about..."   
        "I _am_ worried." I say interrupting him. Derek looks at me in concern and I just sigh. "This is the first time the Argents have seen you since Kate. Derek... they're going to come after you now. If they come after you, then they'll come after the pack and I..."   
        Derek puts the bottle of water on the counter and approaches me. He grabs the side of my head gently and forces me to look at him.   
        "I will protect you and the pack at all cost." Derek states.   
        "Just protect them." I tell him referring to the pack. I then turn to the sleeping boy in the couch. "Protect him."  
        Derek looks at me and emotions flickered in his green eyes.   
        "We're all Isaac has." I tell Derek. "Erica and Boyd have families but Isaac... he's all I have and vice versa."   
        "I won't let anything happen to him or you." Derek responds. I shake my head at him as he misses the point once again.   
        "I can take care of myself, Derek." I state. "Just don't worry about me."   
        "You got injured tonight."   
        "And?" I ask back.   
        "Next time you could get killed!"   
        "Can you be quiet?" I chastise him as I notice Isaac shift in the couch. Derek continues to glare at me.   
        "Why do you do this?" he asks me out of the blue. I look at him confused not knowing what he was referring to. "Why do you continue to push me away? Why can't you just let me take care of you?"   
        "This is not the place or time for this conversation." I tell him.   
        "Can't you just...!"   
        "We're going outside. Let's go." I order him pushing Derek down the hallway, into my room, and out to the backyard. Once we finally did reach the cool night outside did Derek's angry demeanor once again returned. Instead of asking nicely, he pushed me against the glass sliding doors, restricting me from any further movements.  
        "Do you always have to corner me every chance you get?" I ask defensively.  
        "Do you always have to run away every time I get close to you?" Derek asks back. I look away from him ignoring his stare. "Why do you do it Diana? Why must you run every time? Why do you fight against me? Against us?"  
        "The answer would horrify you." I answer honestly as I shook slightly in his hold.  
        "Try me," he replies his hold on me loosening. I shakily take a breath debating whether or not to confess to him sins that I so wanted to hide. I was ready to run away again but Derek catches me before I could, and restrains me more gently this time.   
        His lips caused me to freeze in my spot and I moaned into his mouth. Something about his lips made me crave them and I found myself kissing him back. I pull away finding the whole situation wrong.   
        "No..." I whisper as his lips claimed my own again. "No... this is wrong."   
        Derek shakes his head at me and continues to kiss me. My hands rest on his shoulder and the other at the base of his neck. Derek's hand caresses my sides and suddenly pulls my hips upwards. I quickly wrap my legs around his waist and he slams me lightly against the glass door causing it to shake a bit before stopping.   
        "We really shouldn't be doing this..." I gasp out as his lips devour my neck. "Derek..."   
        Derek ignores my pleas and shuts me up with his lips again. I felt myself losing control as my wolf howl inside me in contempt. My eyes shone red in the darkness of the night and as Derek kissed the sensitive skin of his bite did all pleasure stop.   
        A knock on the glass door immediately caused us to separate from each other. I turn around to find a disgruntled Isaac standing on the other side, sleep still evident in his eyes.   
        "It's a school night and I'm still tired due to being beat up tonight so if you guys could just not do that, it would be greatly appreciated."   
        Without another word, Isaac turned around and headed towards his room. I pull myself out of Derek's hands and slide the door open.   
        "Diana..."   
        "Goodnight, Derek." I say as I quickly look up at him and close the door. I close the curtains, hiding any sight of Derek and settled on my bed. My mate bite burned with an odd intensity.  _Imprinting,_ I thought. It seemed to be done faster than I thought it would and I was worried to what the end result would be.

**************

        _I was soaked in water from head to toe. I would have enjoyed the coolness of the water due to the summer heat but the situation I was in lacked comfort. Leather straps tied my arms and legs down to the chair. My father placed the wires on my forearms and stomach. Marcos placed the strap of the polygraph on my arm. I looked up nervously at them as the machine whirred to life._  
        _“Do we really have to do this?” I ask them as my clothes stuck to me in discomfort._  
        _“If you want to survive, yes.” My father replies.  
        "What does this have to do with hunting?" I ask him.   
        "Werewolves can hear your heartbeat from miles away. If you want to be able to lie to their face then you have to learn how to control your heartbeat." _  
        _Hearing this, I_ _reluctantly sit back down on the chair and tried to relax. I took a deep breath trying to calm my fast beating heart._  
        _“What’s your name?” Marcos asks me as my father looked over the polygraph results._  
        _“Diana Cruz.”  
       My father nods at Marcos and so he continues.  
       “How old are you?”  
       “Fifteen about to be sixteen.”  
       Once again my father nods and Marcos asks the final test question.  
       “What are we? What do we do?”  
       “We’re hunters and we hunt those who need to be hunted.”  
       My father sits back and gives his final nod. Now the real test began and panic settled in my body as Marcos turned on the electricity generator. I took countless deep breaths but it was no use. My heart would beat in fear whether I chose to or not.  
       “What’s your name?”  
       “Melinda Gonzalez.”  
       We all turn to my father who closes his eyes and sighs. He shakes his head and I tried to prepare myself for the impact but electricity shot through me so painfully I saw white lights surround me. I scream out in pain and clawed the wooden chair as electricity and water took its worst effect on me.  
       “Let’s try this again.” My father states. “What’s your name?”  
       I take a deep breath, a shallow one, and slowly tilt my head up at him.  
       “My name is Melinda Gonzalez.”  
       My father looks at the result this time and seems to relax. He turns to Marcos and nods at him. I braced myself for the next shock but it never came.  
       “Ask her the next question, Marcos.” My father says, pride evident in his voice. “She managed to lie professionally after one shock test. Let’s see if she can keep it up.”_    
  
       I enter my office ready to [start a new day](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=193629036) when I found Gerard sitting on my desk playing with a silver knife in his hands. I was used to his threatening visits but felt nervous as I noticed that the knife he was holding had the cross engraved at the blade.  
       “Have you ever heard the phrase, _know thy enemy_?” he asks me not bothering to look up at me.  
       “It's from the art of war by Sun Tzu.” I reply. “My father used to quote that a lot.”  
       “I’m glad you still remember my little huntress.” Gerard mockingly responds. “Know what it means?”  
       “In order to win a battle, one must know everything they can about their enemy.”  
       “Right again. “ Gerard states. “You and I happen to be having that very problem. We've got an enemy about which we know next to nothing. It's killed one of my own, among others.”  
       “I know.” I reply unsure of where he was going with this. “But the kanima’s dead. It’s over.”  
       “Not exactly.” Gerard replies. “Did you hear Jackson Whittemore didn't show to school today?”  
       “What does Jackson have to do…?” I begin to ask before realization hits me. “He’s the kanima.”  
       “Yes, I believe so. And since I’m gladly providing this information to you. I expect something in return.” Gerard replies. “His parents called and so did the police. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?”  
        “Of course not.” I answer. “I didn’t realize he was still… I mean…”  
       “You’re stuttering,” Gerard comments leaning forward. There was a faint grin appearing on his face. “Let me tell you what I know. I know that as an Alpha it’s your first instinct is to protect the pack and since you’re an Alpha, then I have to believe you’re lying.”  
       Gerard circles around me and places a hand on my neck. My pulse heightens a bit but I take a deep breath and will it to slow down.  
       “I’m going to ask one more question, and this time, with a small advantage. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get a sense of your pulse.” Gerard tells me. “Think of it as a game. All you have to do is tell the truth. Do you know anything about Jackson being missing?”  
       “No,” I answer honestly.  
       “Is he in trouble?”  
       “I don’t know.”  
       “Does this have anything to do with Scott?”  
       “Nope,” I reply.  
       “Stiles?”  
       “No.”  
       “Isaac, perhaps?”  
       “Of course not.” I reply quickly and Gerard just chuckles behind me.  
       “Your pulse jumped.” Gerard comments. “Even through all that training they put you through you managed to fail.”  
       “Maybe it’s because you’re threatening innocent kids!”  
       “They’re not as innocent as you make them seem.” Gerard argues back.  
       “Get out of my office.” I growl at him as my eyes turn threateningly red. Gerard immediately pulls out the knife but I quickly press his arm into the wall and grab his throat. “I said _get out!_ ”  
       “And there’s the beast I’ve been waiting to encounter.” Gerard taunts. “I’m glad you haven’t changed after all these years.”          
       “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
       “Teenager, huntress, werewolf… you’re still the same monster that let the Hale house burn down.” Gerard replies with a grin as my hold falters. “I’m the only one who knows your little secret Diana of the Cross. I can either be your salvation or your demise.”  
       I swallow nervously and slowly let Gerard go. He spins the knife skillfully in his hands and slips into his pocket. I felt disgusted as his lips turned up into a sick smile directed at me.   
        " _Know thy enemy._ " Gerard repeats. "That's what I need from you, Diana. I need you to get as close to Derek as possible. It should be easy for you since... well, that bite mark on the neck should be reason enough."   
        "I can't do that to him." I answer. "He doesn't deserve it."   
        He leans forward and I close my eyes afraid of what he was up to.  
       “You'll do anything I ask because if you don't I’ll let your sins out into the light for everyone to see.”  
       Gerard after saying that leaves my office. I start to chase after him, not wanting him to get the last word again, when I take in account of the red headed woman who joined Gerard’s side.  
       “Victoria Argent.” I state as the woman tightly smiled at me.  
       “What can I say?” Gerard says taunting me once again. “Family is power and the more the merrier.”  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a small chapter but it's all I could come up with


	29. Giving In

        I didn't enjoy the role I had been dealt with. I didn't enjoy how this town not only provided me protection from those who hunted me but also held my destruction within. I should just kill Gerard and be done with it but I wasn't much of a killer. I also knew that cutting the head of the snake could cause two more to grow in it's place. Meaning, I would have the Argents at my heels as well, and what would I do then?  
        Having no other choice, [I became the actress](http://www.polyvore.com/giving_in/set?id=194643339) my father and grandmother trained me to be. As much as I hated myself for returning to the darkness that once was my home, I succumbed to it anyways. I made my way to the warehouse that Derek still lived in. I hesitated doing what I had to do but what Gerard had on me was worse. It would destroy everything I've grown to love here and I've grown to love many things.  
        "Derek?" I call out as I enter the empty warehouse. I hear the creaking of the train freight door open signaling his presence. I make my way towards him. My heart was beating for many reasons and seeing him come up to me shirtless might have been one of them. "I didn't mean to... I should let you change..."  
        "You've seen me shirtless before. There's nothing you haven't seen before."   
        "I know it's just that...uh..."   
        "You're nervous." Derek states stepping closer to me. "I can actually hear your heartbeat racing."  
        "Well if you were in my shoes, and saw me shirtless you would be..."  
        "Extremely happy I got that far." Derek says and I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. I pushed him away and grabbed a nearby shirt and threw at him.   
        "Just get changed you perv." I mutter trying to gain back the little control I had.   
        "You're the perv with the way you were ogling my chest."   
        "I'm done with this conversation." I state turning around seeing him clothed now.   
        "Well I'm not." Derek replies. "I'm actually winning this argument."   
        I roll my eyes at him and sat down on a stack of boxes.   
        "No you're not."   
        "I doubt that." Derek states placing his hands strategically on each side of me, caging me in as usual. "You hid your heartbeat from me. I must be doing something right."   
        "Maybe I'm letting you win."   
        "Maybe you should teach me that handy little trick."  
        "I'll teach you mine, if you teach me yours."   
        Derek seemed surprised at my response and I had to admit so was I. I met his stare straight on and didn't realize when both our eyes turned the same shade of red. Before anything could happen, the children came home.   
        "Derek!" I hear Isaac shout and then the loud steps of the on the old staircase. "Derek, we're here."   
        He hesitantly pulls away from me and I couldn't help the faint smile on my face as he returns his expression to his usual blank scowl.   
        "What's going on?" I ask him. "I didn't realize we were having a pack meeting without me."  
        "It's because he doesn't want to admit that he needs help." Isaac states in which Erica nods beside him.   
        "All you had to do was ask." I say turning to Derek.   
        "I don't need just your help." Derek states. "We need Scott and... I hate to admit it but Stiles' help too."   
        "Why do we need their help?" I ask him.  
        "Because the kanima is harder to kill than I thought and I still don't know who it is." Derek states.   
        "And they do?" Isaac asks.  
        "They might." Derek answers. "Which is why I need one of you to get on their good side."  
        "Mm. Scott or Stiles?" Erica asks.  
        "Either." Derek responds annoyed already.   
        "You know, the full moon's coming." Isaac states.   
        "We're aware of that." Derek replies walking up to an old tattered chest and opening it. Inside were chains and manacles. There were some connected to weird torturing looking devices.   
        "Oh my, these look comfortable." Erica comments.  
        "You said you were gonna teach us to change whenever we wanted." Isaac states.   
        "There hasn't been time." Derek replies.  
        "But if you have to lock us up during the full moon, that means - that means Diana and you are alone against the Argents."   
        "They haven't found us." Derek responds.   
        "They haven't found _you_." I state. "Gerard and Victoria have found me pretty well ever since they started to work with me at school."  
        "I agree with her," Isaac said standing beside me now. "So how about we forget the kanima?"  
        "We. Can't!" Derek exclaimed. "There was something about the way Gerard looked at it. He wasn't afraid at all. I don't know what he knows or what he's planning. But I'm sure about one thing. We have to find it first."   
        Derek sends them away but I decided not to follow after him.   
        "You're going to skip work?" he asks me.   
        "Gerard's been a pain in the ass." I tell him. "Victoria added to the mix makes things even worse."  
        "Huh," Derek says turning his attention to me.   
        "I know who the kanima is though." I tell him.   
        "Jackson, right?" he asks me and I looked at him surprised.   
        "How did you know?"  
        "How did you?" he answers me instead.   
        "Gerard told me," I tell him.   
        "I knew it." Derek scoffs out.  
        "Knew what?" I asked him defensively.   
        "You and Gerard." Derek states. "There was something about the way he looked at you the other night. God... I should have known you were siding with him."  
        "Gerard is an asshole that's been threatening me, ok?" I explain. "So you probably want to step off a bit."  
        "He's been threatening you? Why didn't you tell me?" Derek asks this time.   
        "Maybe because it's my battle not yours." I tell him.    
        "We are mates. Whatever is yours, is mine." Derek states. "So your battles are mine too."   
        "No they're not." I answer. "These are mine alone, ok? There's nothing you can do about it."   
        "Then why are you even here?" Derek asks.   
        "Because I need your help." I state causing Derek to look at me in surprise. "I need you to teach me how to fight without completely shifting into my wolf form."  
        "What?" Derek asks me confused.   
        "You know... I have a between state, where I'm not completely human or completely wolf." I explain. "I can never gain control of that part of me. It's hard to focus on both mentalities and continue fighting."   
        Derek seemed hesitant to what I was asking. He steps closer to me and seems to inspect me much more closely.  
        "Show me."   
        "What?"  
        "Show me your between state."   
        "Ok," I whisper as I take off my jacket and put my hair up in a pony tail. I look up at him nervously and allowed myself to shift slightly. My claws extended, red eyes glowing, and I could feel my wolf in my mind wanting to be let out. Derek raises his hand to touch my cheek but I snap onto his wrist and growl.   
        "Diana, it's just me." he says lowly.   
        I hesitantly let his hand go and Derek still reaches for me. It was hard to keep the two of my mentalities in control and this time instead of just stopping Derek, I attacked him.   
        Derek blocked my attacks and in the middle of them, manages to shift himself as well. I knew my human conscious self knew how to read the attacks and give them, but I also recognized how I was fighting out of anger. That anger came from my wolf who just wanted to be set free after weeks of being caged inside. Fighting in anger was never a good thing for the reason that you tend to turn sloppy. Derek took my constant attacks and manages to grab my clawed hands and slam us down on the floor.   
        I groan at the prickling pain in my head and around my back that brought me back to my human form. Derek breathed heavily on top of me but I couldn't focus on his proximity at all. All I could feel is myself letting the cage door open as my wolf sensed my pain. I felt myself shift again but this time it was going all into my wolf form.   
        "Let go..." I gasp out at Derek.  
        "No," he answers.  
        "I can't stop..." I groan out as my back spasmed. "I'm going to hurt you."   
        "No, you're not. Diana look at me."   
        I couldn't open my eyes. They were shut as I tried to push down the wolf inside of me but was failing. I open my red eyes at Derek who was back in his human form. I let out another cry of pain before pushing him off of me. He lands a few feet away me and I start to crawl backwards from him.   
        "Diana..."  
        "Oh god, it hurts..." I whisper as my bones shifted without my consent. I pull my shirt over my head not wanting it to tear. I try to kick of my shoes but another wave of pain racked through me. I felt myself cringe on the floor and Derek took this opportunity to pin me down again.   
        "Diana, gain back control!" he shouts at me. "Come on, I know you can."   
        "She just wants me to heal." I whimper. "She doesn't want me to feel pain anymore."   
        Derek hearing this lets my hand go. Instead of leaving me, he pulls me up into his chest and places his hand on my forearms. I shiver as I felt my blood become hot. I close my eyes for a moment and after a while I felt relief. I tiredly open my eyes and find dark veins disappearing from me onto Derek. He was taking away my pain. I try to pull myself away from him but he holds me to tightly. After a while, all the pain was gone and my wolf was no longer wanting to be set free. I lean my head onto Derek's chest.  
        "Thank you," I whisper, my eyes closing for sleep. "Thank you, Derek Hale." 

****************

         _I sat at the edge of the track allowing the soft breeze to tug my hair to the side. No one was here so the silence was filled with only the dry leaves that tumbled across the field. I stared at the football field and the red track that surrounded it finding peace. Nothing made me feel this calm except here.  
        "I totally won the bet." I hear a voice behind me say. I didn't know how she did. She always knew how to sneak up on anyone without making a sound. I turn around and find my mom sitting down beside me. I smile at her.   
        "What bet?" I ask him.   
        "Your father and I, we had a bet to who would find you first. Clearly I won." she answers. I playfully shove her but return my attention to the field. "Why are you here, Diana? You only come here when you're troubled."  
        I hesitate whether to tell her or not, but end up doing it anyway.  
        "I just... I have this feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong."   
        "And what makes you believe that?"   
        "I don't know," I tell her. "It just... it's going to be really weird to understand but... you know in the movies when everything is going so well but then something happens and it all turns to crap. I feel like we're at that point. Like something bad is about to happen and we're not going to be able to recover."  
        "Honey..." my mom says patting my back and I knew she didn't believe me.  
        "I know you wouldn't believe me...it's absurd." I state. "But I can't help what I feel and that's what I feel."   
        "I believe you," she says smiling down at me. "I always told you to trust your gut."  
        "Well my gut is giving me bad vibes, what do I do about it?" I ask her.  
        "Nothing," she says. "You leave it up to me."   
        "What?" I ask her. "You don't even know what..."  
        "I have my suspicions." she tells me looking across the field. "I also had those **bad vibes** as you call it."  
        "But mom..."  
        "Don't worry, honey." My mother says kissing the top of my head. "I'll make sure we get our happy ending."   
        I nod at that but still felt that something was going to go terribly wrong. We sat on the track for a little while longer and just kept those thoughts to myself.   
  
        _I felt unfamiliar sheets cover me and recognized the smell of them instantly. I open my eyes and find myself on a surprisingly soft bed laid out on the floor of the train cars. I slowly sit up and found that I had my shirt on again. I thought I was alone but Derek's voice cut through the silence very quickly.   
        "You're awake..." Derek states and I turn around to find him seated beside the bed. I give him a faint smile and nod. "Come on, lay down. You're still tired. I can sense it."   
        "No, I should go." I say trying to untangle myself from the sheets. Derek grabs a hold of my hands and stops me from doing so. "Derek..."  
        "I saw it firsthand, Diana." Derek tells me. "I never knew it was that bad. All that pain..."  
        I sigh as I lay back on the pillows. There was no point in lying. He had caught me.  
        "It usually isn't that bad." I explain. "That's just what happens when my wolf goes against my judgment and takes matters into her own hands. It only happens when I'm seriously injured or in pain."  
        "Why would she do that?"   
        "Because she wants me to heal and the fastest way to heal is by shifting full wolf." I tell him. Derek just sighs as he hears this.   
        "I never knew..."  
        "Yeah," I whisper settling deeper into the bed. "Believe me, it took me three years to figure all that out. Almost cost me my life and countless times of exposure."   
        Once again, Derek sighed. I had already said enough and Derek was right when he said that I was still tired. I closed my eyes for a while assuming he'll leave but he didn't. His hand was still holding one of my wrists and I turn to him.   
        "What's wrong?" I ask him.   
        "Everything, clearly..." Derek responds quickly.   
        "More specifically?"   
        "Well besides the kanima and Gerard... you." Derek states.  
        "Derek, I'm fine." I tell him. "Yes I'm a little tired but I'm good."   
        "It's not about your shifting." Derek responds. He pauses for a second, a lapse of hesitation, but continues anyways. "It's just... you were tossing and turning when you slept. You whimpered like... as if you were having a nightmare."  
        "Was I really?" I ask him trying to push the dream I had away. "I don't remember it."  
        "You don't need to lie to me, Diana." Derek states.   
        "I know I don't _need_ to but I _want_ to." I answer.    
        Derek stares at me with his usual scowl.   
        "What?" I ask him. "That face doesn't scare me."  
        "It should."  
        "But it doesn't..." I state.    
        "Come on, tell me about it." Derek responds his expression softening. "It might make you feel better."  
        "And when have you ever cared to make me feel better?"  
        "Believe it or not, a long time ago."   
        I sigh as I hear this and look out at the empty warehouse. I bit my lip conflicted to whether just give in and allow myself to trust Derek with this small part of me or just ignore him altogether.   
        "Where did you get this bed?" I ask as I turn to him. "Is the softest thing I've ever had the pleasure to lay on."   
        Derek just gives me a pointed look.   
        "Don't change the subject. Just talk to me, Diana."  
        I let out a sigh and resorted to just giving in.   
        "My mom... I dreamt about my mom." I tell him. "I told her that I felt like something was about to take a turn for the worst. She said that she felt that too and told me she was going to take care of it."   
        "And?" Derek asks me. "Did things take a turn for the worst?"  
        I could only nod as I felt the tightening of my chest to the familiar suffocating feeling of mourning. I let out a hollow laugh as I tried to keep the tears in.   
        "It was catastrophic." I answer. "I don't know what happened or what led her to it but... she died in a car crash. Under the influence, the report said..." I pause as I wipe away the stray tears and take a deep breath. "The report said she was drinking but it just didn't make sense since she hated alcohol and it was a Tuesday night and she was driving in the most random part of town... I just..."   
        "Hey..." Derek calls out to me as he pulls me into his arm. "Hey it's ok. I'm here."   
        "I was about to turn 15." I tell him through his chest. "They were planning my Quinceñera..."  
        "You don't have to tell me anymore..." Derek says.  
        "Usually when I have nightmares like this, I wake up screaming." I state as the tears finally run out. Derek pulls away as he hears this. I just give him half a smile as I continued. "Isaac used to run into my room scared, he thought I was being attacked. Now it's just a drill for him, he stays with me until I calm down."  
        "Diana..."  
        "I guess you can say I'm improving." I continue. "Screaming to light whimpering..."  
        "When did they start?" Derek asks me.   
        I shrug my shoulders.   
        "I don't know...uhh... after killing Peter..." I tell him as my mind cleared up. "After you gave me the bite."   
        Derek lets me go entirely as I say this.   
        "You're blaming me."   
        "If anyone's to blame, it's me."   
        "Diana..."  
        "I forgive you for everything." I tell him. "I would also like to apologize for all my shitty behavior."  
        "Shitty behavior?" he asks me. "That's what you call it?"  
        "You know I'm considering revoking my forgiveness right now." I say finally being able to stand up from the bed without having him push me back down. I stretch my arms over me and let out a small groan. I felt Derek behind me but his hands on my back caused me to be jump a little from surprise.   
        "What does your tattoo mean?"  
        I instantly turn away from him, hiding the tattoo from his sight again.  
        "It means nothing..." I whisper. "It's just something I got after my mom died."  
        "A cross?"  
        "Yeah," I whisper. "It's a long story..."   
        Derek luckily didn't ask me any more questions but I knew he wanted to.   
        "So... I'm forgiven and you apologized..." Derek says. "Where does that put us now?"  
        "Friends?" I ask him.   
        "You know damn well I want to be more than friends with you."  
        "Ok then," I say stepping closer to him and placing my hands on his neck. "You can be my  _best_ friend."   
        I couldn't help but laugh as his usual scowl made it's way to his face.  
        "You need to stop hanging out with Stiles." Derek states. "He's rubbing off on you."  
        "Is that an order?" I ask him.  
        "Maybe..." Derek says pulling me closer which for some reason I allowed him to.   
        "Who would have thought I'll see the day that Derek Hale would be jealous of a teenage boy?"  
        "I'm not jealous."   
        "Well you had me convinced." I say stepping away from him. "I'm going to need real proof to show otherwise."  
        Derek still wore a scowl and I grabbed my discarded phone and keys ready to leave. I thought our interaction was over but I was wrong. Derek spins me around and his lips crash against mine. It was an abrupt start but I easily melt into it. I could sense everything about him. I felt his warmth radiate out of his body and the lingering taste of coffee in his tongue. I couldn't help being breathless as he pulled away.   
        "Proof enough?" he asks me.   
        "How does kissing me prove anything?" I ask him. Derek looked pensive for a second before his lips were on top of mine. It didn't last as long as the first and he quickly pulled away. I couldn't help but laugh.  
        "You're just going to be doing that until I let you off the hook, huh?"   
        Derek pecked my lips again answering me once again.  
        "Mmm, I'm still having a hard time believing this as proof."   
        "I can do this all day." Derek says pressing his lips on my jaw and then down my neck.    
        "Oh you're going to need to, Derek." I tell him losing myself slowly into the temptation of his lips. "I'm a very hard person to convince."   
        Derek just laughs against my skin and I let out a surprised squeal as he picks me all of a sudden. He started to walk forward and I shook my head at him.   
        "Don't you dare." I state as I see him taking us to his bed.   
        "What?" Derek asks me feigning innocence. "You said my bed was the softest thing you've ever laid on."  
        "And here I thought Stiles and Scott were the hormonal teenage boys but it ends up, it's just you."   
        "Haha, very funny..." Derek says placing me onto the bed and pulling the sheets up to cover me. "All I want is for you to lay down and rest."   
        "Lay down with me, then?" I ask him as I closed my eyes. "Maybe the nightmares won't come back."   
        "You really believe that?" he asks me as I felt the bed dip beside me. I could only humm as an agreement. I nestled closer to him as he closed his eyes too.   
        "What changed?"   
        "What?" I ask him half-asleep.   
        "What changed for you to actually let yourself be here with me?" Derek asks quietly.   
        "The same reason you actually laughed today..." I respond. "Because you make me happy and I haven't been happy for a long time."  
        Derek doesn't say anything and I allowed myself to fall back into my own thoughts. I felt guilt run through me as I remained in the comfort of his arms. I wished that everything I said to him could have been a lie but it wasn't. He really did make me happy but I was only here because Gerard wanted me to be. 

        *****************

        I wake up as I hear the creaking of the warehouse door. Derek and I quickly untangle ourselves from the sheets and each other. We instantly walk out of the train car just to find Scott and Stiles rushing in with Erica in their arms. She looked very pale and she was shaking. I felt my hands start to convulse as well and tasted the familiar taste of blood in my mouth.   
        "Oh my god..." I whisper as I walk up to her again. "She's having a seizure."  
        I quickly run up to her and grab her from Stiles' arm. Erica shook in my arms to wildly and I fell onto the floor still cradling her.   
        This shouldn't be happening. This was over ever since the bite healed her.   
        "Hold her up." Derek orders me. I do as he says as Erica stilled in my arms. Her pulse was weak and a cold sweat was on her skin.   
        "Is she dying?" Stiles asks us.   
        "She might, I..." Derek says frantically.  
        "Then do something about it." I tell him. Derek looks at me and then down at Erica.   
        "You're not going to like it." Derek tells me. "It's going to hurt."  
        "Just do it already." Stiles pipes in. Derek seemed unsure but I give him an encouraging nod. Derek turns back to Erica and rolls her sleeves up. He takes her arm in his hands and all I hear is a loud snap.   
        "You broke her arm!" Stiles exclaims.   
        "It'll trigger the healing process." I tell Stiles.  
        "I still gotta get the venom out." Derek tells me. "This is where it's really gonna hurt."   
        I force myself to look away as Derek dug his claws into Erica's arm. She screamed in my arms and I tried my best to hold her still. Erica turns to Stiles and grasps his hand for support.  
        "Stiles...you make a good Batman."  
        I feel her weaken in my arms and slowly pass out. I brush her damp hair aside and passed her care on to Stiles who seemed very willing to take care of Erica. I grab Derek's crappy medic kit and try to patch up Erica the best way I can. Stiles helps me put her on Derek's bed to rest and said he'll wait for her to wake up. I turn to Derek and Scott who were walking out of the train car.   
        "You know who it is." Scott states now that we were all alone.   
        "Jackson." Derek answers as he sits down.  
        "You just wanted Erica to confirm it, didn't you?" Scott asks us. Derek just nods. "I'm gonna help you stop him."  
        "What?" I asked surprised.   
        "Look working separately has almost gotten people killed." Scott tells us. "If we work together, we might be able to end this once and for all."   
        "You tell us what you know and we'll take care of the rest." Derek offers up.   
        "No." Scott argues. "No, I'm going to help you with this... as part of your pack."  
        Derek seemed genuinely surprised by that until Scott continued.   
        "If you want me in, fine but I'm Diana's beta. She's my primary Alpha." Scott states in which Derek hesitantly nods at. "And we're gonna catch him, not kill him."  
        "Anything else?" Derek asks annoyed now.   
        "And we do it my way." 


	30. Who is the real Diana?

        It was there again.   
        The gut feeling that told me that something was about to go terribly wrong. I took a deep breath as I stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was pulled up, natural make-up on my face, and my leather jacket on. I hated the reflection I was seeing myself in. I hated to know that the person in front of me was lying and deceiving and was an overall coward again. I hated how my life had turned out and I hated it even more when I felt that something was about to go wrong.   
 _Tap. Tap. Tap._  
        I snap out of my dark thoughts and turn to my glass door. Isaac walks into my room nonchalantly and slides the door open. Derek slowly walks in and his eyes immediately land on me. A faint smile grazed his lips and I allowed myself to do the same.   
        “Are you two ready?” he asks.   
        “I am,” Isaac answers. “Diana?”  
        “I’m ready.” I state. “Let’s just get this over with.”   
        Isaac, hearing this, leads the way outside. Derek waits for me and places his arm around my shoulders on the walk to his car.   
        “Can I drive?” Isaac asks hopefully.   
        “Do you have a license?” I ask him.   
        “No.”   
        “Then there’s your answer.” I tell him causing Isaac to pout.   
        “So if I did get my license I can drive the Camaro?” Isaac asks after a while  
        “Nope,” Derek says as he puts the seat back causing Isaac to be forced into the back. I roll my eyes at Derek who in return gives me a playful wink. Derek starts the car and pulls out of my driveway. I could sense Derek’s brief glances to me and I couldn’t help but smile at the small acts.  
        “Stop doing that,” I state.   
        “Doing what?” Derek asks glancing at me.  
        “Doing that.” I say with a smirk. “Undressing me with your eyes.”   
        “What’s wrong with that?”   
        “It would ruin the surprise…"  
        “So are you two…?” Isaac trails off and I narrow my eyes at him. “Like are you two together finally?"  
        I don’t offer a response and neither does Derek.   
        “Is that a silent  _yes_ or a silent  _no_?"   
        "It's a silent  _shut up!_ " I answer pushing Isaac back into his seat. Derek just chuckles at that and I shove him as well. I shook my head at both of them and turned back to the window.  
        "Ok, I have another question." Isaac states.   
        "Isaac..." I say in a warning tone but it was too late.  
        "Does this mean Derek moves in now?"  
        "Isaac!"   
        "He has a point." Derek comments.   
        "I... we will talk about this later." I say ignoring the question overall. "Right now, we should be focusing on Scott and making a plan that both of you can agree on."  
        "You don't think this will work?" Isaac asks me.  
        "It's very rare for Derek to actually work with Scott." I answer. "They tend to stray away from the original plan and someone ends up betrayed, hurt, or killed."   
        "That's not how things went down last time." Derek argues.   
        "Oh really?" I ask him trying to hold back my laughter. "We all ended up getting hurt. You betrayed Scott and I when you aligned yourself with Peter and well... Peter and Kate died in the end but that wasn't much of a loss."  
        Derek had nothing else to say and Isaac was trying to make sense of what I had just said. There was no point in furthering the argument especially since I had won and we had arrived at the Clinic. Derek's expression resorted back to his usual scowl while Isaac was indifferent about the whole thing. I pulled the two of them along as I unlocked the Clinic door and made our way in.   
        "What's he doing here?" Scott asks as he catches sight of Isaac beside me.   
        "We need him." Derek replies.   
        "I don't trust him." Scott states.  
        "Yeah, well, _he_ doesn't trust you either." Isaac responds.  
        "You know what? Derek really doesn't care!" Derek exclaims. I roll my eyes at the three boy werewolves with me.   
        "Come on, guys." I say pushing my way through them. "You are all pretty princesses. Let's get going."    
        "Where's the vet?" Derek asks even more annoyed than before with my comment. "Is he gonna help us or not?"  
        "That depends." Deaton says as he appears into the room, leaning on the doorway unimpressed. "Your friend, Jackson. Are we planning to kill him or save him?"  
        "Kill him." Derek answers.  
        "Save him." Scott says at the same time as Derek.  
        "Save him." I second turning to Derek and giving him a disapproving look. "Save him."  
        Derek just sighs and reluctantly nods. Deaton was hesitant to allow him in but he did so. We all stand on one side of the table while Deaton stands on the other. Deaton sets a set of random herbs and spices in front of us. I could see labels on top of it but they were unrecognizable. Isaac was about to touch them when Derek immediately grabs his hand.  
        "Watch what you touch." Derek chastises him.   
        "So, what are you? Some kind of witch?" Isaac asks him.  
        "No, I'm a veterinarian." Deaton answers. "Unfortunately, I don't see anything here that's going to be an effective defense against a paralytic toxin."  
        "We're open to suggestions." I offer up.  
        "What about an effective offense?" Isaac asks Deaton.  
        "We already tried." Derek responds. "Diana and I nearly took its head off and Argent emptied an entire clip into it. The thing just gets back up."   
        "Has it shown any weaknesses?" Deaton asks.  
        "Well, one... it can't swim." I answer.  
        "Does that go for Jackson as well?" Deaton asks us.  
        "No." Scott responds. "He's the captain of the swim team."  
        Deaton thinks for awhile before coming to a quick conclusion.  
        "Essentially, you're trying to catch two people." Deaton states as he pulled an metal insignia out of a drawer. "A puppet... and a puppeteer." he shows us on one side and then turns it to the other. "One killed the husband, but the other had to take care of the wife. Do we know why?"  
        "I don't think Jackson could do it." Scott responds. "His mother died pregnant too, and she was maybe murdered. I think he couldn't let the same thing happen to someone else."   
        "How do you know it's not part of the rules?" Isaac asks him. "The kanima kills murderers. If Jackson kills the wife, then the baby dies too."  
        "Does that mean your father was a murderer?" Scott asks Isaac.  
        "Wouldn't surprise me if he was." Isaac responds.  
        "Hold on. The book says they're bonded, right?" Deaton asks us in which we nod. "What if the fear of water isn't coming from Jackson, but from the person controlling him? What if something that affects the kanima also affects its master?"  
        Deaton places a circle of mountain ash around the metal insignia of the puppeteer.  
        "Meaning what?" Isaac asks confused.  
        "Meaning we can catch them." I answer with a slight smile. "Both of them." 

****************

         _The tension in the air was hard to explain. There was the obvious hateful and angry tension between my father, brother, and I, and then there was the tension between the family that was sitting in front of us. A father and his daughter that seemed to magically be old friends of my mother. I knew that there was some third tension of secrecy that held them and my father together but no one was willing to indulge on what the secret was.  
        "So Kate...you're new at Beacon Hills," Marcos says playing with his food and looking up at the blond girl in front of me. Her blond hair and blank attitude told me that something was extremely off with her but I played nice... or as nice as I could be.   
        "I'm actually not." Kate responds angrily slightly glaring at my brother. "I've been here way before **you** were."  
        "Kate, behave." her father gritted out.   
        "Fine..." Kate exclaims stabbing the vegetables on her plate. She then turns her attention to me and I did my best to meet her stare straight on. "So Diana, any cute boys you're sneaking around with?"   
        My brother, father, and Kate's father spit, choke, and grimace as they hear that. I couldn't handle the attitude this girl brought with her alongside what seemed to be her douche of a father.   
        "I don't have any boys that are worth my attention." I answer. "Even if there was, my father and Marcos would make me pack up my bags so we can hit the next town that needs us. Whatever their "needs" might be."   
        "Oooh... kitty's got some claws." Kate comments with a smile while my father and Marcos glare at me. Kate's father tried to hide his smirk but was obviously failing. "I want to know more about this drama of yours."   
        I glare at Kate who was leaning towards me maliciously.   
        "Kate, that's enough now."   
        "Oh, but why?" Kate complains. "Things were just getting good here."   
        "I think you should listen to your dad, Kate." I practically growl. "Because **kitty** is more of a tiger if you ask me." _  
         _"You promise?" Kate asks me excited. "Because if you promise that, then this boring dinner has seriously got potential."  
        "You seriously have some nerve coming here and..." I start to say as I stand up from my seat. Kate leans back on her chair as if she was excited for my attack.  
        "DIANA, that is enough!" My father exclaims as he slams his hands on the table. I snap towards him even more upset than I already was.   
        "Are you serious?" I shout at him. "She started this!"   
        "Kate and her father, Gerard are our guest. YOU have to behave!"   
        "Marcos, tell him he's wrong." I say turning to my brother for help but Marcos just turns away from me and takes a sip from his glass. "Unbelievable..."  
        "Diana..." Marcos calls my name out but I let out a dry laugh that interrupts him.   
        "You from all people turned your back on me. That's great." I mutter throwing my napkin and silverware away. "Whatever Marcos, dad... I'm done."   
        "Done with what?" My father asks. "We haven't even started dinner."   
        "Done with everything!" I shout. "I'm done with the lying and the deception and the cryptic moves. I'm done with you and Marcos. I'm done with everything!"   
        "Diana, behave!"   
        "I'm sorry, dad." I say scooting my chair away and standing up from the table. "I'm done being the obedient daughter and sister and student and whatever else you need me to be. You want your daughter back, well... guess what? That daughter wants her mother back. I guess we're both won't be getting what we want."  
        I turn away from them and start to walk away. My father calls out my name and so does Marcos but I ignore it. The one thing I wasn't able to ignore was Gerard and Kate's commentary.  
        "I guess now that kitty is out of the room, we can have a real dinner conversation."   
        "Carlos, I didn't know you had such a great firecracker as you daughter." Gerard says and I could feel his stare on me. "Can't wait till you put her to use."_

_****************_

I rubbed my eyes trying to push away the drowsiness of fatigue. The locker room didn't help with all the racket and noise it brought with the boys trying to change for school. The morning practice was a drag and it was even more tiring as I saw the same plays being made over and over again.   
        "Can anybody tell me where the hell Jackson is and why he missed morning practice?!" Coach Finstock shouts beside me.  
        "Can you be any louder?" I ask him annoyed.   
        "What?" he says practically keeping the same volume with the exception that he was practically over my ear. "Did you have a wild night or something?"  
        "Or something..." I mutter as I remembered the traumatizing dream.  
        "Stilinski!" Coach yells luckily moving past me. "Have you seen Jackson?"  
        "Sorry, Coach, I haven't seen him since the last time I saw him." Stiles answers.  
        "Oh, and when was that?" Coach asks him.   
        "Last time I saw him was definitely... the time I saw him last."  
        Coach seemed very confused from that and moves along to Danny.   
        "Danny, tell Jackson no missing practice this close to the championships, okay?"   
        "Sure, Coach." Danny responds.   
        "That goes for all of you." Coach states. "I should be coaching college."  
        I shake my head at him and make my way towards Stiles and Scott. I got to the final end of their conversation which involved the loose ends of our plan. The loose ends that involved them getting into the rave that Jackson was going tomorrow night. Danny walked away from Scott and Stiles which I assumed was a bad sign.   
        "How do you two losers even survive?" Isaac asks behind them.   
        "Isaac," I chastise.  
        "And this is why I don't like him!" Scott exclaims beside me. He just sighs unhappily as he see's two guys holding rave tickets. "What are we supposed to do? No one's even selling."  
        "Wait here, boys." Isaac says walking away from us.   
        "What is he gonna - ?" Scott begins to ask before the sound of clashing ensues.   
        "Ow. Oh, my - yup." Stiles comments with every crash. "That's excessive. That'll bruise."  
        "Ow." Scott sighs out.  
        "I'm definitely going to see those two in the nurse's office soon." I state as the crashing sounds come to an end.   
        "Enjoy the show." Isaac says as he came back and pressed the tickets on both of their chests. He starts to walk away and I quickly follow after him.  
        "Oh... when we get home, you are SO grounded."   
        "What?" Isaac exclaims. "But I...."  
        "Yeah, I know what you did." I answer. "Thanks for helping Scott and Stiles out but the way you did it was what got you grounded, mister!"   
        "But mom!" Isaac exclaims jockingly.   
        "Don't you dare call me mom ever again." I say pointing my finger at him. "Sound wrong in every way."  
        Isaac just laughs and side hugs me. The two boys from earlier limp out of the locker room beside us and seemed to be headed towards my office.   
        "That's my cue to work." I tell him. "And don't forget... you're grounded." 

****************

        I walked into the Clinic and found Scott and Stiles already there. Deaton walks in with some materials at hand and places them in front of us. I take notice of the absence of the other half of the team here and I knew why. Deaton already knew all the crap that was going on in my life. He was the only one who knew and recently he's been nudging me to open up to other people. I usually shut him out after that but it's been dragging me down as of late.   
        "Ketamine?" Scott asks confused as he read the labels on the drug bottle.   
        "It's the same stuff we use on the dogs, just a higher dosage." Deaton answers. "If you can get close enough to Jackson, it should slow him down enough to buy you some time." Deaton turns to Stiles now with a vile of black ash in his hand. "This is some of what you'll use to create the barrier. This part is for you, Stiles. Only you."  
        "Uh, that sounds like a lot of pressure." Stiles responds nervously. "Can we maybe find a slightly less pressure filled task for me?"   
        "It's from the Mountain ash tree, which is believed by many cultures to protect against the supernatural." I explain to Stiles.    
        "This office is lined with ashwood, making it difficult for someone like Scott or Diana to cause me any trouble." Deaton continues.   
        "Okay, so then what? I just spread this around the whole building and then either Jackson or whoever's controlling him can't cross it?" Stiles asks him.  
        "They'll be trapped." Deaton answers.  
        "Doesn't sound too hard." Scott comments.  
        "Not all there is." I tell them. "Think of the mountain ash like gunpowder. It's just powder until a spark ignites it. You need to be that spark, Stiles."  
        "If you mean light myself on fire, I don't think I'm up for that." Stiles exclaims.   
        "Deaton..." I sigh out asking for his help and he complies.   
        "Let's try a different analogy. I used to golf. I learned that the best golfers never swing before first imagining where they want the ball to go. They see it in their mind and their mind takes over. It can be pretty extraordinary what the force of your own will can accomplish."  
        "Force of will." Stiles repeats.   
        "If... if this is going to work, Stiles, you have to believe it." Deaton states in which Stiles hums in agreement.  
        "We need a back-up." Scott states. "Last time I worked with Derek, things didn't work out like it was supposed to."   
        "Tell me about it..." I mutter.  
        "What do you plan to do, Scott?" Deaton asks.   
        "You noticed it, didn't you?" Scott asks turning to me. "The smell of death."   
        "It's hard to ignore." I answer.   
        "What?" Stiles asks confused. "What smell of death? Please tell me this isn't a joke about me. I swear I put on deodorant before I left the house."   
        "No, this is about Gerard." I say causing Stiles to stop his blabbering. "This is all about Gerard and me."   
        "Diana..." Deaton says but I put my hand up to stop him.   
        "It's time, don't you think?" I ask him taking a shaky breath. "The back-up plan won't work if Gerard holds secrets over me."  
        Deaton nods and allows me to go on. I turn to Scott and Stiles feeling nervous all of a sudden. This was a make it or break it moment and I was scarred for the latter choice.   
        "What's going on, Diana?" Scott asks me as he noticed my teary eyed expression.  
        "What's not going on?" I ask in return with a dry laugh. Stiles grabs a hold of my hand and Scott gives me an encouraging smile. I take a deep breath and finally gain a few seconds of rare courage.   
        "It all started with a girl... a girl who lost her mom." I start off. "Her name was Diana Cruz but her name changed to Diana Cortez and Diana Cortez died in a fire 6 years ago in Beacon Hills."

*************

        Derek and Isaac left to pick up Erica at her dad's house. I stayed behind [finishing getting ready](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=195895169) and having plans of my own. I packed up the freshly baked cupcakes and made my way to Stiles' house. I manage to get there in time as Stiles was just exiting his house and the Sheriff was making his way in.   
        "Hey Sheriff," I greet as I catch sight of him. "I brought you two cupcakes."   
        "What's the occasion?" he asks more tiredly than usual.   
        "Umm..." I look at Stiles who was still silent, most likely at my presence, and turn back to the Sheriff. "I was hoping you'll lend me Stiles for the night. I promise to bring him back home in one piece."   
        "Yeah, that's fine." the Sheriff mutters as he takes the plate out of my hands and slowly make his way to his house.   
        "Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Stiles calls out to him. "What's wrong?"  
        "Nothing." the Sheriff sighs out.   
        "Oh. Where's your gun?" Stiles asks him.   
        "I left it at the station along with my badge." the Sheriff says quietly.  
        "What?" Stiles and I ask in shock and confusion.  
        "It's all right." the Sheriff tells us, glancing at me before turning back to Stiles. "You know what? We'll talk about this later."          
        "Dad..." Stiles calls out.   
        "Don't worry about it."  
        "Dad!" Stiles exclaims.   
        "It was decided that the son of a police chief stealing police property and having a restraining order filed against him by one of the town's most respected attorneys did not reflect well on the county." The Sheriff finally admits. I see Stiles become dejected at this and I automatically felt out of place in the situation. This was obviously a family moment that I managed to make my way in.   
        "They fired you?" Stiles asks in disbelief.   
        "Nah... Look, it's... it's just a leave of absence. It's... it's temporary."  
        "Did they say it was temporary or..." Stiles begins to ask but the Sheriff interrupts him.   
        "Actually, no. You know, I...it's fine." the Sheriff waves us off. "Don't worry about it though. Hey. We're going to be fine."   
        "If there's anything I can do...?" I begin to ask but the Sheriff just shakes his head at me.   
        "Just take care of him tonight."   
        "Dad. I don't get it." Stiles states. "Why - why aren't you angry at me?"   
        "I don't know." the Sheriff answers seeming more aged than before. "Maybe I just don't want to feel any worse than I already do by having to yell at my son."  
        Without another word, the Sheriff makes his way inside and Stiles was left behind with me. I could see his hesitation to leave and his teary eyes.  
        "Oh shoot..." he whispers.  
        "Stiles." I call out his name.   
        "It's all my fault." he mutters.   
        "We'll fix this, ok?" I tell him as I grab his arms and force his attention to me. "We'll catch the kanima, the murders will stop, and we'll make your dad the hero. We're going to fix this."   
        All of sudden, Stiles pulls me into a hug which surprised me since I thought he was going to be hostile with me ever since he knew who I was and what I've done.   
        "We're going to fix you too, Diana." Stiles whispers to me. "You deserve it too."

***************

        I followed Stiles' Jeep as he picked up Scott, who offered me a normal warm smile, making it seem like everything seemed normal even though it wasn't. I could hear silence in their car and assumed it was Stiles' own way of coping. I wished there was something I could do to fix his whole situation but only time could tell. We finally made it to the rave and we all got out of our cars.    
        "You two okay?" Scott asks us. I turn to Stiles and he manages a small smile.   
        "Yeah, why?" Stiles asks him in return.  
        "You two just seem out of it." Scott answers. "I just assumed we were all still apprehensive about the whole Cruz thing..."  
        "Well, I'm fine." I tell him. "I'm just glad you two didn't run for the hills or turned your backs on me. I was scared that was going to be the case."   
        "But you did nothing wrong." Scott states. "You were manipulated and you were just a teenager."  
        "I agree," Stiles answers. "You didn't know better."   
        I almost felt the need to cry as I heard them say this and just resorted to giving them a hug.  
        "Ok, now that that's settled. Can both of you just grab the other bag?" Stiles asks us.   
        I look at the back of his Jeep and see the bags filled with mountain ash.   
        "Sorry, Stiles. I can't." I answer.   
        "Why not?" Stiles asks me.   
        "Remember Deaton said you have to do it alone." Scott reminds him. Stiles just huffs at that annoyed and throws the bag back into the backseat.   
        "Okay, this plan is really starting to suck."  
        "No..." Scott mutters and I look at him confused. "No, not here, not now."  
        "What?" Stiles asks him.  
        I tune into my wolf senses and I could hear the clicking of guns and the smell of silver.   
        "Damn it..." I whisper as Scott runs off in one direction. " _Argents."_  
"What do you mean Argents?" Stiles asks me.   
        "I mean... they're here." I answer. "The plan... it's not going to work. The plan..."   
        I start to hyperventilate and Stiles quickly grabs a hold of me and shakes me.   
        "We're not ready for Plan B so we have to make tonight work!" Stiles exclaims. "You're going to do what you do best."   
        "Stiles..." I start to say panic rising into my voice. Stiles pushes away the mountain ash bags in the back of his car and pulls out one of my black to-go bags. "Stiles, how did you...?"  
        "Deaton gave it to me." Stiles answers. "He thought it could come handy."  
        Stiles presses the bag in my hand and I look at him unsurely.   
        "You're going to outhunt the hunters, you hear me?" Stiles asks me. "Because I know you want to protect Scott and me, and the pack and... Derek. I know you can do this."  
        Not knowing what else to do, I pull Stiles into a hug and whisper a quick thank you. Finding the courage that could only be found in Stiles' small speech, I started to run around the building in search of Derek and Boyd. They were in charge of outside parole and right now they were walking into danger.  
        " _Derek...back off._ " I could hear Chris say from a distant.  
        " _Back off?"_ Derek asks him. _"That - that's really all you've got? I got to be honest, Chris. I was really expecting more from the, uh, big, bad veteran werewolf hunter."  
        _ The clicking of guns and the slight smell of wolfsbane filled the air. Hearing this, I started to sprint as fast as I could.  
        " _Okay, then. How about " **didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring claws to a gunfight?** " _Chris asks him. I pull the shotgun out of my bag and pump the bullets into place.  
        "Who said they didn't?" I ask loudly causing all of the hunters attention to turn to me. Derek and Boyd immediately turn to me and I raise the gun higher. "RUN!"   
        I let two shots go and caused the pack of hunters to disperse individually. Shots flew everywhere and I immediately retreated to the back of the dumpster so I could aim and not get hit. Derek and Boyd followed after me as I took the first shift in offense with the only gun I had in the bag.  
        "Since when can you shoot a gun?" Boyd asks as he winces at the multiple shots that the dumpster was taking.   
        "Since forever." I answer. "My dad wanted me to be well guarded."   
        I manage to hit two hunters in the shoulder and leg, taking them out of the action. Most of the survivors were hiding behind the cement pillars and shooting at us. It was hard to get a shot at them as much as it was hard for them to get a shot on us.  
        "I'm wasting bullets with them hiding behind those pillars..." I tell Derek. "We're not going to last long and I only have a handful of bullets left."   
        Derek looks at me contemplating what to do next. The dumpster was being pushed back by the excessive force of multiple gunshots and I lost balance. A shot whizzes past me and Derek immediatley pulls me down with him. All of a sudden, the pensive expression on his face disappeared and he sprinted out of the safety of the dumpster shield. Boyd seeing this, followed after him in thee offensive approach of hand to hand combat.   
        Boyd was able to take two hunters down and disperse of their guns. Derek managed to do the same with one of their bigger hunters and brought him down. I quickly get up, no longer under the threat of shots, and balance the gun on the top surface of the dumpster.   
        "Take the shot, Diana!" Derek shouts as he fights against more hunters.   
        I do as he tells me and manage to bring down another two hunters that were beating on Boyd. There was no sign of Chris who was my main objective right now. He was the best of the best and I knew he wouldn't stop until Derek was at his mercy.   
        I saw two hunters sneaking up on Derek but before I could shoot them down, they tasered him. My finger was ready on the trigger but electricity shot through me and my gun clattered on the floor. My claws scratched the metal surface of the dumpster and I look up at Derek in fear as my wolf howled inside me.  
        "Derek," I whimper as his gaze painfully lands on mine.   
        Our groans of pain seemed to synchronize and before I knew it, Derek pulled the electric filled wires and tugged the hunters into knocking each other out. Derek quickly runs to my aid and helps me up. I tried to warn him not to but it was too late. I felt the bullets go through him and through me. We both fall behind the dumpster and Boyd after a while joins us.   
        There was only one heart beating behind the dumpster and the scent clearly pointed out that it was Chris. He seemed to be the only survivor of his pack of hunters. Derek, Boyd and I attempt to regain our breath but it was useless. We were too weak and tired to finish this once and for all.   
        "I think I stopped healing." Boyd winces out.   
        "The bullets...they're laced with wolfsbane." Derek tells him.   
        "You've got to go, Boyd." I order him. "Take my car."  
        "What about you?" Boyd asks me.   
        "We'll be fine." I tell him. "This isn't our first rodeo."   
        "Besides we have to find Scott." Derek states. Boyd was still hesitant and I shove the keys into his hands. I then manage to pull myself up and bring the gun back into view.   
        "Go, Boyd! Go!" I shout to him deferring him of any further gunshot wounds.   
        Once Boyd disappeared, I fall back down beside Derek. I could only hear his and my heart beating rapidly as our bodies quickly mended itself.           
        "Chris somehow left." Derek tells me. "I don't know when he left."   
        "Well we should go," I state. "We don't know if he's coming back with more weapons and more men."   
        I manage to stand up, the pain being less than before, and help Derek up. His body wasn't at full capacity and the momentum of the pull upwards made his body crash against mine.   
        "I'm sorry," I whisper as I help him stand on his own. "It's my fault you got hurt."   
        "It's not your fault." Derek says looking at me with concern. He puts away a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and leaves his hand pressed against my cheek. "You started to turn."   
        "I had it under control."   
        "You started to turn because you felt what I felt." Derek states. "The imprinting... it's working faster than I thought."   
        Just the simple reminder of imprinting caused me to feel an immense guilt. Having Derek press his lips on my forehead made it even worse.   
        "Come on," I tell him. "We should find Scott."   
        Derek leaned on me for the first few steps but after a while his Alpha healing kicked in and he managed to walk on his own. We start to jog back to Stiles in hopes that Scott was back with him but the sight of a lonely Stiles told us otherwise.   
        "Hey... so we kind of lost Jackson inside but it's ok because uh..." Stiles' rambles are cut short as Erica and Isaac ran outside only to be unable to walk through due to the boundary of mountain ash. "Oh my god! It's working! Oh this is... I did something!" Stiles exclaims happily.   
        "I'm glad you got your happy ending, Stiles, but have you seen Scott?" I ask him.  
        "No, not since he left." Stiles answers. "He won't even answer his phone."   
        "Something's wrong..." I say turning to Derek. All of a sudden, a big wave of panic rose to my chest and the ability to breathe became harder and harder.   
        "Diana!" Derek shouts as I fall to my knees.   
        "Scott..." I gasp out. "He can't breathe..."   
        "What do you mean he can't breathe?" Stiles asks him. "How do you know that? He doesn't have asthma anymore! How do you know that?"  
        I tried to respond but the air thinned in my lungs and I felt the familiar feeling of suffocation. A roar filled the air but it only reached Derek and my ears.   
        "Scott...the pack bond," Derek states as he pulls me up. He then turns to Stiles. "Break it."  
        "What? No way." Stiles exclaims.  
        "Scott's dying!" I gasp out. "Stiles, I'm dying because Scott's dying!"   
        "Why would you...?"  
        "Oh, my God, Stiles!" Derek shouts annoyed and in desperation. "Scott's in Diana's pack! Break the boundary!"   
        Stiles seemed to hesitate but my gasps of air seemed to believe us and he immediately kneeled down and waved his hand over the boundary. The mountain ash flew out and the boundary was broken. Derek pulls me up this time and we both start to run into the building. Most of it was evacuated and the scent of Scott was so ingrained into our minds that it didn't take long to track him down.   
        We rush into the room and find Scott practically dead on the floor. The air was heavy on the wolfsbane dazing us both pretty quickly. Derek clutches my hand tightly and I felt him drain my pain away and give me strength in return. As my head cleared a bit, it was too late to warn him of the other heartbeat in the room. Victoria Argent stabs Derek in the back, causing him to fall to the ground, already weak. Seeing this, already dazed and weak, I let myself shift partially and turn to Victoria.   
        "I've had enough of you Argents for a lifetime." I growl.  
        Victoria lunges at me with her knife but I quickly disarm her and the knife clatters onto the ground. I manage to get some punches in before Victoria turns the fight around and tackles me onto the floor. Before I could gain my bearings, Victoria found the knife into her hand again and dug it into my abdomen. I screamed at the silver blade in me. Victoria dug it deeper into me and I became slightly blinded by the pain.   
        Her victory didn't last long as Derek pulled her off of me and threw her against the wall. My sight was drowsy  and I could barely distinct who was who. I pulled the knife out of my side and pressed my hand to it tightly. I manage to roll of my back and try to get a better view of Derek and Victoria. My sight was less blurry but the flashing lights of the dying rave outside made it hard to see who was winning. All of a sudden, I catch sight of Derek's red eyes and extended fangs. Before I knew it, they latched onto Victoria's neck.   
        "Derek no!" I try to shout out but my throat was tight and I could still feel the few waves of defeat and loss of air. I didn't realize when tears rose to my eyes as Derek pulled me into his arms and set me on my feet.   
        "Are you ok?" he asks me.   
        I couldn't find the words to respond and instead resorted to shaking my head. Derek must have assumed that I was in shock of what happened and quickly whispered assurances into my ear. Those whispers were unheard as I felt a part of me shut down. What happened next, I wouldn't know, since the aching pain on my side didn't compare to the pain of my heart.   
        Scott had almost died tonight and Derek did everything to save both of us.   
        Derek did the ultimate sacrifice... the sacrifice of biting a hunter.   
        Not only is the bite a curse to hunters, but it was the final seal of death, and Derek had just given it to an overprotective Victoria.   
        Victoria Argent, the mother of teenager named Allison, was just delivered to her own death. 

        ***************

Derek Hale's POV  
         
        Deaton placed the final stitches on Diana's abdomen and placed a bandage over it. Like a mechanical machine, Diana emotionlessly pulls her shirt down. I could see her struggle under the blank mask she wore. Her eyes pass over Scott's sleeping figure on the table in front of me. She shuts her eyes quickly and averts her stare from there.   
        "Will he be ok?" she whispers to Deaton.   
        "He just needs to sleep it off." Deaton responds. "You two came just in time. A second longer and he wouldn't have been able to recover."   
        "Thank you," I find myself telling him and it seemed to have caught Deaton by surprise as much as it did to me.   
        "There's no need to thank me, Derek." Deaton tells me. "It's all part of the job."  
        Deaton's eyes turn to Diana but she ignored his stare and continued to keep her eyes closed. Her head reclined onto the cabinets behind her. It seemed that she was no longer with us. With all that happened tonight, she seemed out of place and no longer a person.   
        "Take Diana home, Derek." Deaton tells me. "She needs to rest as well."   
        "She's never been like this." I state looking at her emotionless state. "It's like...it's like she's shut down."   
        Deaton sighs and I knew it was his hesitation seeping through.   
        "Scott and Diana are the same person." Deaton starts to explain to me. "She would do anything to save Scott from the hell she's been through. But there's some exceptions for her..."  
        "What kind of exceptions?" I ask him.   
        "The kind that reminds her of her past." Deaton answers.   
        "A past that only you know." I say unhappily and fairly annoyed.   
        "Yes, a past that only a few and I know." Deaton states. "But that's not the point. Diana, she's... she puts a great front. She's strong and brave and daring, but when it comes to killing people or taking a mother away from her child..."  
        "She lost her mother when she was young." I state in realization.   
        "And now Alison will lose her mother at the same age." Deaton finishes for me.   
        I let my head hit the wall behind me and cursed my brashness in situations. Deaton pats my shoulder before leaving the room. I wasn't sure if it was to comfort me or to congratulate me in my stupidity. I was ready to go sulk in my own misery but a voice broke me out of those thoughts.   
        "Derek, take me home." Diana's fragile voice tells me.  
        All the dark clouds that were in my head seemed to disappear and in an instant, I had her in my arms and I walked out of the Clinic. Her head laid against my chest and in that moment, I was assured that maybe I hadn't lost everything. 

*************

        The slide door clicked in place and the darkness of my room enveloped us both. Derek sets me down on the bed and clicks the lamp on my bedside table on. His green eyes meet mine in the dimness of the room. I suddenly felt tired and Derek seemed to notice that too. In a silent conversation that was spoken only through our eyes, Derek helped me out of my shoes. I stiffly pulled my shirt off and slip of the skirt. Derek immediately stands to leave but I grab a hold of his hand before he could disappear on me.   
        "Please stay..." I whisper. "I can't do this by myself."   
        Derek seems to hesitate but I tighten my grip on his hand.   
        "Just hand me my robe," I tell him. "It's on that sofa chair over there."   
        He silently does as I tell him to do and he brings me the silk material over. I place it on myself and tie it. I sorely stand up and Derek immediately places his hands on my hip.   
        "I need to take a bath," I whisper. "I need to get rid of the scent of wolfsbane in my skin."  
        "Come on," Derek says as he takes the initiative of carrying me. "Let me help you."   
        I was too tired to make a joke out of that and allowed Derek to take me into the bathroom. He settles me on the toilet and without asking him to, he starts the bath for me. Once he thought it was ready, he motions me to go in.   
        I slip off the robe and Derek turns away from me. I take off the rest of my clothes and settle myself into the warm water. The smell of lavender and vanilla filled my nose and I immediately relaxed. Derek was about to leave the room but I call out to him once again.   
        "Please don't leave yet..." I whisper to him, the tears in my eyes and my voice cracking. "I can't afford to be alone right now."   
        Derek hesitates once again but it must have been the sight of my shield breaking that made him stay. He sat beside the bathtub as I silently washed myself. Derek stared straight ahead, silent, as if he wasn't even there, but he was and that was all that mattered to me.   
        I stood up from the now cold water and Derek immediately stood up as well. I shivered slightly due to the cold air in the room and Derek immediately covered me with a nearby towel. I closed my eyes as I felt his finger trail up my arms and comb through my wet, silky hair. I dried myself the best that I could and wrapped myself in my robe again.   
        Once again, he carried me back to my room and settled me on my bed. He searched my drawers for a change of clothes but I pulled him back to the bed.   
        "Why did you do it?" I ask him. "Why did you bite her?"   
        "I didn't mean to." Derek answers. "It just happened."   
        I stare away from him and let my hands fall off his arm. I was ready to settle into bed and sleep this whole night off but Derek's touch caught me by surprise. I look up at him and his green eyes stared deeply into mine.   
        "I know what I did was wrong." he tells me. "That it's a horrible thing to do to and that it reminded you of bad things but if I had to do things again, I wouldn't change a thing about what happened tonight."   
        "Derek..."   
        "Let me finish," Derek interrupts me. "If I had to choose between you and Victoria, I would always chose you. Nothing can ever change my decision on that. You might hate me, despise me, and curse me for doing that but I will never change. _I care about you_. I've shown you this countless times before. I will always put you first because after everything that's happened, you're the only thing I truly care about the most."   
        I couldn't find the words to respond to that. I wasn't sure  _how_ I was supposed to respond to that.   
        "I should go..." he whispers. "Let you rest."   
        "No, don't." I find myself saying. Derek stops walking and tilts his head at me. I shrink down again unsure of what I was doing. "Please, don't leave yet..."  
        Derek remained in his spot and I had no other choice but to continue.   
        "I care about you, Derek... so much more than I thought I ever could."    
        "Diana..." Derek whispers taking a step closer to me. I grab onto his arm and pull him closer to the bed.   
        "Derek Hale," I state. "You're the only one who can make my nightmares go away."  
        "Diana..." Derek sighs out as he kneels in front of me and his hands engulf my body.   
        "You're the only one I need." I tell him. "If I lose you, I don't know what would happen to me."   
        Derek's forehead was pressed against mine and I just sighed at the simple touch. His hands laced through my damp hair as mine found pleasure in every muscle of his body. We soon started kissing, unsure of who started it. Our breaths intermixed with each others and so did our desires.   
        "I've wanted this for far too long," Derek whispers against my bare neck. The Mate bite seemed to warm up to Derek's proximity and grew hotter as Derek kissed it. "Diana, my moon, my stars, my everything..."  
        I closed my eyes as Derek continued to whisper sweet words into every part of my skin. Something inside of me was telling me to stop this but it was overruled by the overwhelming sensation of Derek's skin against mine. I let myself fall for this one night and allowed my heart to beat on it's own for once. 


	31. Family is Control

        I didn’t feel tired as I woke up. My eyes blinked, adjusting to the sun that was rising through the woods and into my bedroom. I felt his breath right behind me and the heavy arm resting on my waist pulling me closer to him. Our legs were tangled with each others and his other arm was under my head. I slowly turn to him and find Derek already awake. His face blank of any emotion as mine was too.   
        “Good morning,” he whispered his voice deep from just waking up.   
        “Morning.” I whispered back.  
        We stared at each other in silence unsure of what to say next. There were a lot of sirens going off in my head. The voice inside my head telling me that this shouldn’t have ever happened in the first place but I silenced that voice as I got lost into Derek’s eternal green eyes.   
        “Any nightmares?” he asks me allowing concern to show through his mask.  
        “None,” I answer quietly seeking the warmth he provided. Derek allowed me to move closer to him and his arm tightened around my waist.           
        “And how do you feel?” Derek asks me. “You were pretty shaken up last night.”           
        “I’m fine…I think.” I respond unsurely. “A lot of things happened last night that shouldn’t have happened.”  
        “Was what we did last night one of them?” Derek asks pulling away from me.  
        “Of course not.” I state forgetting the consequences of what this night might have brought. It was the best and the worst thing I could have done. “I wanted last night.”   
        Derek seemed relieve as he heard this, relaxing himself back to the bed, his hands tracing patterns on my hip.   
        "You never did tell me more about your tattoo.” Derek tells me out of the blue. “It's right in the same spot I have it…"  
        “Don’t start thinking I copied you, Hale.” I reply with a chuckle as I remembered his triskele tattoo on the top of his back. “I got mine when I turned sixteen and a full pledged human.”  
        “Really?” Derek asks me surprised. “That young?”  
        “It's a long story.” I sigh out.   
        “And why a cross?”  
        “It was my mom’s thing, you know?” I lie slightly. “A piece of her I carry around. A cross I must bear…”   
        “Poetic.” Derek comments.   
        “I know,” I answer. “So… tell me about yours. When did you get it?”  
        Derek looks pensive for a while as he settles on his back and looks at the ceiling of my room.   
        “I think it might have been during my first summer in New York. I was nineteen, I think.”  
        “How can a werewolf get a tattoo though?” I ask him. “Wouldn’t it heal?”   
        “It does.” Derek states. “The thing about New York is that it's filled with werewolf packs and Lara and I luckily found a tattoo parlor specifically for our kind. Let’s just say…their needle and ink was more of a blowtorch.”   
        “Ouch that must have hurt like hell.” I say cringing slightly.   
        “Yeah… might have been the best and the worst decision I’ve made in my life.”   
        I couldn’t help but chuckle at that and Derek with a grin just pulls me closer to him. His hand once again begins to trail over my nude skin and his lips graze my ear and neck. I shiver at his feather like touch and find myself craving for more. Though that moment was interrupted when I heard the distant sound of a car engine.   
        I quickly pull myself off of Derek and start to collect his clothes. Derek was confused as I pulled him out of the bed and threw his clothes at him.   
        “Diana, what’s going on…”  
        “Isaac’s about to get here in like a minute.” I exclaim. “I didn’t even realize he wasn’t here. Oh my God… he can’t know.”   
        “Know what?” Derek asks with a chuckle as he slowly places his jeans on. I glare at him as I grab my own clothes and quickly [pull them on](http://www.polyvore.com/family_is_control/set?id=197091063).   
        “You know what.” I growl. Once Derek was fully dressed I start to push him out the doors of my room and into the backyard. Derek was pushing against me still grinning that grin of his.   
        “You do know that hiding me won’t do anything about the scent in this room.”   
        “What?” I ask anxiously.  
        “Your whole room smells like…”   
        I quickly slap my hand on his mouth preventing him from saying the word. I glare at his playful and teasing eyes.   
        “You’re going to listen to me, ok? And listen closely.” I tell him not moving my hand away from his mouth. “Isaac can’t know what happened here tonight because he won’t let any of us live it down. The hard cold Alpha thing you have going will fall apart and we can’t have that can we?”   
        Derek just rolls his eyes and I let go of him.   
        “So do we have a deal?”  
        “Let me see what I can do about your room.” Derek states.   
        “Ok, I’ll go make breakfast and stall him.” I tell him as I heard the car coming closer to the cabin. “I don’t care what you do in here. Burn the sheets, fog the room with febreeze and perfume, I don’t really care... just do what needs to be done.”   
        I make my way out of the room and start to busy myself in the kitchen. I start a fresh pot of coffee and start to make scrambled eggs. I hear the car stop outside and footsteps. I try to hide my nervousness as Isaac finally unlocked the front door and made his way inside. I smiled at him as I tried my best to nonchalantly cook.   
        “Where were you last night?” I ask him.  
        “I slept over at Boyd’s.” Isaac answers. “I hope you didn’t mind that. I should have called or something. I drove the car back and I know I don't have my license but it saved Boyd from driving and then walking home so...”   
        “It’s fine, Isaac.” I tell him.           
        “How were things for you last night?” Isaac asks me as he starts to pour himself a cup of coffee. “Boyd was pretty injured so I couldn't imagine how bad you and Derek could have taken it.”   
        “Nothing we couldn't handle.” I answer. “Derek and I were strong enough to save Scott from Mama Argent. No biggie.”   
        “I would count that as pretty big.” Isaac states.   
        “Not really, Isaac.” I remark. “I save lives all the time.”   
        Isaac just chuckles at that and rolls his eyes.   
        “Yeah, yeah, whatever…” Isaac says sitting across from me as I lowered the flame on the eggs and placed some bacon on another pan. “Umm, not to add more crap on the pile but… where’s your Mate bond?”   
        “My what?” I ask confused.   
        “ _Your what_?” Derek asks with a slam of the door.   
        I find Derek making his way to the kitchen. Isaac was laughing now at the sight of him and I just glared at both of them. Derek ignored my glare and instead looked over my neck pulling my t-shirt slightly down. I slap at his hand but he ignored me once again.  
        “It really is gone.” he states.   
        I look down and indeed the bite mark was gone. I pull Derek’s t-shirt down and find that his Mate bond was also gone as well.   
        “Now I wonder why that could have happened?” Isaac asks tauntingly. “Maybe it’s because you two…”   
        “Shut it.” Derek and I both growl out at Isaac.  
        “Does this mean I have to start calling you mom and dad?” Isaac asks pointing at the both of us.   
        "Isaac!”   
        “What?” Isaac asks laughing. “You two finally settled that sexual tension that followed you two everywhere. I get the right to make fun of you two for it.”   
        “You are so grounded.” I growl out.   
        “Yeah, yeah… you say that all the time.” Isaac responds.   
        "This time's for real." I say with all seriousness causing Isaac to shrink a bit. His eyes still held confidence though as he looked between Derek and I.   
        "Does this mean Derek will move in with us?"   
        "To your room," I order. "You're done here, no more _funny_ jokes for you, and no breakfast. _And_ no coffee." I state as I grab the cup out of his hands. Isaac frowns slightly but his mouth still held a grin.  
        “Have a great morning after mom and dad.” he says quickly before disappearing down his room.  
        I roll my eyes at his childish antics and turn back to Derek who still seemed concern about our Mate bond no longer showing. His fingers still tracing where the bite mark scar used to be. I pat his hands consolingly as I get the plates ready for both of us.   
        “Way to let the cat out of the bag.”   
        “I didn’t mean to.” Derek sighs out. “What Isaac stated alarmed me.”  
        “It’s obvious that it took you by surprise.” I state. “You didn’t know this would happen.”   
        “No, I didn’t.” he tells me. “I don’t understand why.”   
        “Imprinting, right?” I answer.   
        “Maybe… ask that Deaton friend of yours just to make sure though.”   
        “Yes, you know what that’s a great idea.” I sarcastically state. “I’ll go tell the man who’s like a father to me that I had sex with you and now my mate mark is gone.”   
        Derek cringes at that.   
        “Ok, maybe don’t word it exactly like that but still make sure this isn’t something to be concerned about.”   
        “Fine,” I whisper reluctantly.   
        We both sat at the dining table ready to put all of this behind us when there was a knock on the door. Scott’s head popped out as he sheepishly looked around. I smiled at him once he caught sight of me. He smiled back but frowned when he caught sight of Derek too.  
        “Sorry, the door was unlocked.”   
        “Come on in, Scott.” I state. “Breakfast?”   
        “I just ate.” he whispers. “I’m just here to make sure you two were ok.”   
 _“Oh they’re both more than ok._ ” Isaac shouts from his room.   
        “Can it, Lahey!” I shout annoyed before turning to a confused Scott. “I’m fine and Derek’s fine. We’re both fine. How are you?”  
        “I’ve had better days.” Scott states.  
        "Yeah we all have," Derek says as he cleared his throat and looks at both of us, his face falling back to his usual concerned scowl. "We need a new plan, because next time, one of us is gonna be too hurt to heal."  
        "I get it. We can't save Jackson." Scott exclaims.   
        "We can't seem to kill him either." I state. "I've seen a lot of things, Scott. I've never seen anything like this."  
        "Every new moon's just gonna make him stronger." Derek points out causing Scott and I to sigh unhappily.   
        "So how do we stop him?" Scott asks us.   
        "I don't know. I don't even know if we can." Derek answers.   
        "Maybe we should just let the Argents handle it." Scott tells us.   
        "He's not wrong, Derek." I say agreeing with Scott. "It'll take some things off our back."   
        "I'm the one who turned him. It's my fault." Derek explains before turning to me. "It's _my_ cross to bear."  
        "Yeah, but you didn't turn him into this." I say grabbing a hold of his hand. "I mean this happened because of something in his past."    
        "That's a legend in a book. It's not that simple." Derek tells me.  
        "What do you mean?" Scott asks him. "What are you not telling me?"  
        "Why do you think I'm always keeping something from you?" Derek accusingly asks him.   
        "Because you always are keeping something from me!" Scott shouts back.   
        "Well, maybe I do it to protect you." Derek replies.   
        " _How does him not knowing you slept with Diana protect him?"_  Isaac shouts from his room.  
        "You two did what!" Scott exclaims.   
        "I am so going to ground you till the end of time, Isaac." I growl. "I will make you clean the yard and the lawn and paint the house. Move my furniture, clean the garage, and then after you've done all of that, I'm going to make you run laps around the forest with me every morning before giving you a new list of chores to do!"   
        "You two..." Scott says still in shock before turning his glare to Derek. "You!"  
        I could see Scott starting to shift and Derek was doing nothing to stop him from doing so. In fact, Derek seemed ready to face Scott on. I rolled my eyes at the testosterone that was polluting the air and step in between them both.   
        "Now as lovely as it is that you're fighting for my honor, it's not necessary." I tell Scott pushing him slightly back. "As for you Derek, he's _my_  beta. Don't pick fights with him."   
        "She's right," Derek states stepping back on his own accord. "Go to sleep, Scott. Study. Heal. Make sure your friends are safe. Because the full moon's coming and with the way things are going, I've got a feeling it's gonna be a rough one."   
        Scott with one last growl leaves us, I could see he was still upset about the whole Derek situation. I was also a bit concerned about ourselves as well but I could ignore it better. My mind pushed those thoughts away and focused on the full moon tonight. Derek was right, it was going to be a rough one.   
        Isaac hesitantly makes his way into the dining room and looks at us sheepishly.   
        "Is it too late to say that I'm acting like an asshole because the full moon is coming up?"  
        "Horrible excuse." I answer. "You see, I'm perfectly nice today and to prove it to you, I'm not making you do your chores today."   
        "Really?"   
        "Really." I answer. "We can't afford you losing control."  
        "You're the best, Diana!"   
        "Not really," I tell him glancing at Derek who had concern in his eyes for tonight. "After tonight, you won't think I'm the best." 

*************

        Everyone met up at Derek’s warehouse. He thought it would be safer to keep them here during the full moon tonight since the woods would most likely be filled with hunters. I still didn’t like the idea of keeping them in an abandoned warehouse but Derek was right. It was better to take this risk than the risk of facing the Argents tonight.   
        Derek told everyone to stay put as he opened up the chest full of torture tools, or that's what I called them, for tonight's full moon. The top of the cover of the chest had a drawn in triskele and Isaac gently outlined it with his finger.   
        "What is that?" he asked Derek.  
        "It's a triskele." Boyd responds instead. "Spirals mean different things. Past, present, future. Mother, father, child."  
        "Someone's been doing his reading." I remark in which Boyd sheepishly smiles.  
        "You know what it means to me?" Derek asks Boyd.  
        "Alpha, beta, omega?" Boyd answers unsurely.   
        "That's right." Derek says impressed. "It's a spiral. Reminds us that we can all rise to one or fall to another. Betas can become alphas, but alphas can also fall to betas or even omegas."  
        "Like Scott?" Isaac asks.   
        "Scott's with us." I answer.  
        "Really? Then where is he now?" Isaac asks us.   
        "He's looking for Jackson." Derek tells him."Don't worry, he's not gonna have it easy tonight either. None of us will. There's a price you pay for this kind of power. You get the ability to heal, but tonight you're gonna want to kill anything you can find."   
        "Good thing I had my period last week, then."  
        "TMI, Erica." I tell her. "But you're right. That's a good thing for us ladies."  
        Derek quirks his eyebrow at us not liking how the conversation turned.   
        "It's a girl thing." I explain. "You wouldn't understand."   
        "I'm fine without knowing," Derek replies as he pulls out a nasty looking head-lock thing. "This one's for you."   
        "Fun..." Erica says trying to sound confident but obviously failing at it. "More fun than Lydia Martin's birthday party tonight."  
        Everyone seemed uneasy and I knew it was the full moon taking its effect on them. I looked at Derek who seemed to be worried as well.   
        "I guess we should start this once and for all." I whisper to him. He just nods and motions everyone into one of the train cars in the warehouse. There wasn't enough room for all of them to be next to each other. Even then Derek and I decided that that could be a bad idea. This was the first time for Boyd and Erica to succumb to the power of the full moon so we decided to put them next to each other while Isaac was on a row ahead of them.   
        "What if we break free?" Boyd asks us.   
        "Then you'll do anything you can to get out of here." I answer as I tighten the belt around his waist that chained him.  
        "You'll probably try to kill me or Diana, then kill each other and kill anything else with a heartbeat." Derek tells him. He then turns to me. "I need you to hold her."  
        I grabbed Erica's arm and Isaac grabbed Erica's neck to hold her still.   
        "So how come she gets to wear the headband?" Isaac asks us.  
        "Because she'll be able to withstand more pain than the two of you." I answer. "One of the many reasons that women are better than man."   
        "Oh really?" Isaac asks mockingly.   
        "I've got an extra one if you really want to test that theory." Derek offers up. Isaac tried to put up a good front but seeing the spikes on the headgear he quickly shakes his head.  
        "I'll pass."  
        Derek just grins at me and I couldn't help but chuckle. We turn back to an anxious Erica and the dreaded headgear.  
        "You ready?" Derek asks her.  
        "Yeah." Erica sighs out.  
        "Take away her pain will you?" Derek asks me.   
        "That was the plan."   
        Erica looks at both of us nervously as Derek raises the headgear over Erica's head. Like a twisted halo, it hanged over Erica's blond hair, and then settled on her forehead. Derek the starts to screw in the screws, starting with the one on her forehead. Blood starts to slowly drip down her forehead and as much as she tried to hold it in, she let out a scream and it grew to be worse as Derek continued with the rest of the screws. Though I took most of the pain away, there was always more to come.  
        She was barely standing on her own once the gear was on but proudly she stood on her own two feet. The only one left unchained was Isaac and he gladly sat down with no question. For someone hours away from the full moon, Isaac seemed pretty normal. Though the display this morning showed a slight increase in his cockiness and arrogance, yet everything else seemed pretty much the same with Isaac.  
        "How do you not feel this?" Isaac asks Derek who was putting on the restraints on him. I decided to check in on Erica and Boyd double checking his restraints. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation but it was hard not to when the whole train car was silent.   
        "I feel every second of it." Derek answers.  
        "Then how do you control it?"  
        "Find an anchor. Something meaningful to you. Bind yourself to it. Keep the human side in control."   
        "What is it for you?" Isaac asks him.  
        "It used to be anger." Derek answers causing me to stop what I was doing, interested in what he said.   
        "It used to be?" Isaac asks him. "What is it now?"  
        "Her..." Derek whispers and I turn to him in surprise at the answer. He was already watching me and Isaac just smiled back at me too.  
        "What about you Diana?" Isaac asks me. "What's your anchor?"  
        I let go of the chain that I was holding and face Isaac.   
        "Fear." I answer. "There's a lot of scary things out there. Wendigos, psycho Alphas', and hunters... some hunters are pretty horrible."    
        "What makes you afraid Diana?" Isaac asks again.   
        "You don't want to know." I answer. "But don't fret my little wolf pup, your anchor doesn't have to be that. It doesn't have to be that for anybody."   
        "You mean Scott?" Isaac asks us.  
        "Yeah." Derek answers hesitantly as he locked the last lock into place. "All right, that should do it."   
        Derek pulls the chains, testing the strength, when all of a sudden that pipe that was holding the lock together breaks and loosens the chain.   
        "That's not good." Isaac comments.   
        "You're not wrong." I answer. "You are not wrong." 

***************

        This was not going as planned. In fact, this was going exactly the opposite from what we planned. The train car idea was turning out to be a really bad catastrophic idea and there was little to nothing as to how to fix it. I stared at the three turning betas in front of me. Their yellow eyes glowing in the dimness of the train car and their growls echoing in the metal warehouse. I step out of the train car unsure of what to do. I find Derek with a phone on his ear, his shoulders tense with stress.  
        "Scott, can you call me back? I'm probably gonna need some help." Derek says panic obvious in his voice. Their was the hitting on metal and howls that made this situation even worse. "Definitely gonna need some help."  
        Derek flicks his claws on and his eyes glowed red.   
        "If I shift now," I start to tell him. "I'll be full wolf. If I shift in my between state..."  
        "You won't have control."   
        I nod at that and look apprehensively at the cart.   
        "I was also dumb enough to forget to bring my bag of magical tricks." I say starting to step towards the cart. "It's all up to my great hand to hand combat skills."  
        "Don't go in." Derek exclaims. "I'll handle them."   
        "Derek, you can't fight all three of them at once!"   
        "I'm not taking the risk of you getting hurt." Derek growls out.   
        Before we continue arguing, Isaac broke through the window of the train car. Derek was about to follow him when the headgear that Erica had on flew in front of our feet.   
        "You take care of Erica and Boyd!" I shout as I start to run out of the warehouse. "I'll catch Isaac."   
        Derek yells out my name but I knew he had no choice but to let me go. I sprinted out of the warehouse doors and start to run after Isaac. He was in complete transformation and the full moon was controlling him.   
        "Isaac!" I shout gaining distance on him. He turns the corner and I quickly follow him. Thankfully the warehouse that Derek situated himself in wasn't the only abandoned warehouse in the block. Every building on this side of the city were left behind. No one was here for blocks but if Isaac ran out of this district, he would be in the heart of Beacon Hills and I wouldn't be able to stop him there.   
        "Isaac!" I shout and this time he even seems to recognize his name. His pace slowing down a bit, but not enough for me to catch up. I took this opportunity to climb over a crate and sprint on top of it. I got a better view of where Isaac was heading and as I got closer I took a leap of faith and jumped. The rush of wind blew my hair all around me and I felt the hard pull of gravity as I tackled Isaac to the ground.   
        We rolled around a couple of times, his claws piercing the skin on my forearms. Even through that, I was able to use the momentum to my advantage and pinned Isaac down on the floor. His yellow eyes were crazy and he growled and snapped at me like a wild animal. I didn't flinch, in fact, I held on to him even tighter.   
        "Isaac..." I whisper this time. "It's me, Diana."   
        Isaac tilts his head a bit, calming down but not enough to actually recognize what I was saying.   
        "It's scary," I tell him. "I know it is. I know fear very well but I know you're still in there."   
        He growls lowly but his struggles were less.   
        "I know you, Isaac." I say softly. "You've been through hell but I promise you that I will always carry you out of it. That I will always be there for you."  
        Isaac's yellow eyes stared deeply into mine and I felt that spark of hope that he was actually comprehending every word I was saying.  
        "I'm your family, Isaac. Just the same way that you're my family." I confess. "Don't you ever forget that."   
        Isaac, still shifted in wolf form, looks up at me more clearly.   
        "Diana?" he asks quietly. I sigh in relief and let him go. Once he sat up, I pulled him into a hug and held on to him for dear life. Isaac sighed next to my ear. "Family..."   
        "Yeah, Isaac." I state. "Family." 

*************

        Isaac and I ran in to find Derek still struggling with Boyd and Erica. Without asking him to, Isaac rushed in and held back Boyd that almost made an escape. Isaac pushed Boyd down into the train car seat and nodded towards Derek. It was obvious that Derek was surprised by this and simply nodded back at Isaac.   
        Derek chains Erica up and makes sure that she wouldn't be able to break out this time. He did the same thing for Boyd and kept a wary eye on Isaac who was still able to keep it under control. Once Boyd and Erica were situated and I had the green light to come in, did Isaac sit down in one of the seats and waited to be locked up.   
        "Think you'll be okay now." Derek says putting the chains on him for good measure. "Looks like you found an anchor."  
        "Family..." Isaac whispers his response. Derek stops testing the chains and looks at him confused.   
        "Your father locked you in a freezer in the basement to punish you."  
        Isaac didn't flinch at the mention of his past. Instead he turned to Derek calmly.   
        "He didn't use to." Isaac answer before his eyes turned to me. "Besides, I have a new family."   
        "Who?" Derek asks him.   
        "Her." Isaac says smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile at that. I walked up to him and placed a soft kiss on the curls of his head. Isaac then turns to Derek with a grin. "I guess something else we have in common, Derek."   
        "Yeah, whatever." Derek says with a roll of his eyes.   
        Though he acted that the comment didn't affect him, Derek still placed his arms around my shoulders and escorted me out of the train car. I tiredly place my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes for a bit.   
        "Tired?"  
        "Just a bit..." I answer. "It's really hard trying to keep the she-wolf at bay."   
        "How does that work exactly? If she has a mind of her own, how do you control it?"  
        "It's going to sound strange to you but we're pretty much the same person. She'll agree on whatever I decide." I explain. "But there are times where she can take over like when I'm in vast amounts of pain. There's also times when her needs, which is mainly the freedom of running, get too much for her so I have to... in a way... walk her? Does that make any sense?"  
        "I guess." Derek responds with a shrug. "About your anchor..."  
        "Derek..." I start to say not wanting to brush over this topic but he interrupts me.   
        "I'm sorry but I just have to know." Derek states. "You're my anchor, Diana. I don't know when it happened but you are. And it's not a big deal, it's not like I'm asking you to do the same for me but I still have to ask. What are you so afraid off that it could still be your anchor?"  
        "This world's a scary place, Derek." I answer.  
        "That's not an answer."   
        "I'm scared of..." I hesitate and rubbed my eyes anxiously. "I'm scared of getting too close to you, ok? I'm scared of losing you and hurting you and you finding out things about me that you won't like. I'm just simply scared of falling for you, Hale. I'm just..."  
        Derek kissed me softly and slow. It didn't last long but I felt time slow down just enough for me to know that everything was going to be ok just for this simple second that I allowed myself to tell the truth.   
        "We'll take it slow." Derek comforts me. "I'm not going to rush you into anything."   
        "Too late to say that since we did the horizontal tango less than 24 hours ago."   
        "Well then we'll take it slow starting from today," Derek says chuckling. "After we deal with all of this kanima crap, I'll take you on a real date with movie and popcorn and whatever else you want."   
        I would have liked to agree with that. I would have loved to say yes and kiss him one more time but I knew I couldn't. I knew that a lie would have to pass my lips and I just couldn't find it in me to do that to him. Not tonight at least.   
        I open my mouth, unsure of what to say, when Lydia somehow sneaks up on us.   
        "Lydia?" I find myself asking. Derek and I stare at her confused while Lydia didn't say anything. Without a word, Lydia raises her hand and blows something into our faces. What happened next... I wouldn't know. I just knew that things got dark too quickly and I felt myself falling into oblivion. 

***************

_There were so many rules and tips and codes that I had to memorize. Most of them were simple and were generally just common sense but others were more complicated. Some of these rules were borderline immoral and sometimes illegal. As I learned more and more and ingrained each of them in my mind, I felt the young, naive, Diana Cortez fade away and Diana Cruz take her place.  
        "Familia es honor. Familia es poder. Familia es fuerza."   
         **(Family is honor. Family is power. Family is strength.)**  
        Once I recited words that were tattooed to my brain was I allowed to speak to my grandmother who was overseeing my lesson today. It made me slightly nervous seeing her here instead of my father. She always seemed to be staring too much and too closely for my liking. As if she was waiting for me to just combust.   
        "La lección de hoy es muy importante. Especialmente porque nosotras mujeres tenemos muchas habilidades en nuestro poder."  
        (_ **_Today's lesson is an important. Especially since us women have a lot of skills in our power.)_ **   
_"And what would those skills be?" I ask her.  
        My grandmother slams the table, a hostile look in her eyes.   
        "In my house, you'll speak Spanish. Like your mother taught you. Am I clear?"   
        "Si abuela." I answer slightly frightened at her display of violence.   
        "Eso es mejor," she says more calmly a small smile on her lips. "Te voy a enseñar una lección muy importante hoy y eso es que hombres no más importan para tener un hijo y dinero. Lo de mas no importa. Un hombre no mas trae dolor y problemas. Por eso somos nosotras las mujeres que somos encargadas de la familia."   
         **(That's better.)        (I will teach you an important lesson today and that is that men only serve the purpose of having a kid and money. Everything else doesn't matter. A man only brings pain and problems. That's why it's us women who are in charge of the family.)**  
        "Lo entiendo, Abuela, pero porque es esto una lección?" I ask her.   
        **(I understand, Grandma, but why is this a lesson?)**  
"Porque el amor es una ilusión." she tells me. "Y si tu te enamoras, es en real el fin del mundo porque el ahora tiene el poder de destruirte." she pauses as she grabs my hand tightly. "No dejes un hombre que tenga ese poder sobre ti."   
        _ **_(Because love is an illusion.)        (And if you fall in love, it is really the end of the world because now he has the power to destroy you.)         (Don't let a man have that power over you.)_ **

***************

Derek's POV  
  
        I tried to open my eyes but like anchors falling into the abyss of the sea, they remained closed. I tried again and this time they fluttered lightly. I could see shadows and familiar angles but my sight was still blurry and I couldn't make out where I was. I force my eyes open again and my vision clears up finding the familiar old wooden floors and the ceiling that was quickly falling apart. My eyes then shifted to the red headed girl who somehow was dragging me on the breaking floor of my destroyed house.  
        "Lydia..." I moan out as she finally stops dragging me. My vision blurs once again and I snap my eyes open to see her leaning over something. Something I couldn't see. "Lydia."   
        My memory was failing me as I tried to remember how I got here, how I managed to get into this situation. I tried to move but every muscle in my body was not under my control. I was paralyzed, that's what it seemed, and I couldn't even roll over.   
        Lydia then moves and drops something off somewhere that wasn't in my perspective. My eyes fall back to the side and I see a white wolf, whimpering, her breathing rapid. Her eyes look down into mine and I instantly recognized them. The soft brown eyes of the girl I woke up this morning. Except this time instead of her eyes masking away her feelings, she showed the genuine fear. Her wolf showed the fear that she was having and she was begging me for help. I just knew that she needed me right now.  
        "Lydia, stop..." I say more sternly as my arm is pulled away from me. I recognize where it's being taken and starts to panic even more. "You don't know what you're doing."   
        Lydia ignores me and places my arm in the hole that contained Peter's burned corpse. I close my eyes once more and groan as I feel my arm be pierced. My eyes snap open and I felt the glow in my red eyes. I was already weak with the wolfsbane that was still in my system but the blood loss was making it worse. The full moon was illuminating the dark and hollow house and I could barely keep my eyes open.   
        "I heard there was a party." A dead voice huskily whispered. I look up to see Peter in front of me. His body healed of any burns and that he was very much alive. "Don't worry, I invited myself."


	32. Fury

         _In the sea of black, my mother wore white. Her dark hair was in long curls and she wore a white gown. The coffin was dark chestnut brown contrasting the dress and her pale features. She was dead, and yet she still remained elegant in that state. I tore my eyes away from her as my father closed the coffin preventing anyone from seeing her.  
        The priest was reading a long verse from the bible, one that I didn't care much for. Instead of listening, I distracted myself in watching the people around me. Most of them were my parents friends and others were Marcos and my friends paying their respects. My father didn't have much of a family and my mother didn't speak about hers either. Though we never knew about them, my grandmother and other unknown relatives came as well.   
        I take notice of how she stood in high regard. She walked with an air of power and strength. Her stare causing people to turn away, feeling scrutinized under it. I also noticed how she whispered to my father, a strong man on his own, and had him agree with every word she said. Her conversation with him cuts short and her stare lands on me. I stared at her, not wanting to back down, and that seemed to make her smile.  **Smile** ,in my mother's funeral. _  
         _I break my gaze from her and return my focus on my mother's coffin. Yet after a while I find myself staring once more at the old woman across from me. She was still staring at me, as if she was waiting for me or something. I turn to ask Marcos who was sitting beside me but it was obvious from his expression that he wasn't happy. Neither of us were, but I was sad, my father was depressed, but Marcos... Marcos was just angry.  
        "I remember the day that Diana was born." Marcos starts off when the priest allows us to speak a few words about my mother. Yet I knew that Marcos' mood wasn't the best as I saw him grab the podium with such hateful strength. "I remember as my father led me into the hospital room and I found my mother pale, tired, but happy. She was holding baby Diana in her arms and she made me promise her... promise her that I would keep her safe."   
        I look up at him, his voice was breaking and I could see the tears that were threatening to fall but he held them back.   
        "And ever since that day, I've kept my sister safe. But... but who was keeping my mother safe? Who was looking out for her when she was drinking? Who was keeping an eye on her when she got in the car? Can anyone tell me, huh? Who?"   
        My father walks up to him and pulls him away from the microphone. They share words and he points him to sit down beside my grandmother leaving me alone. Everyone turns to look at me, the young teenage girl who lost her mother, the sister of an angry older brother, and all I could do was stare back at them unsure of what to say.   
  
        _I knew these memories wouldn't stop and it was my own personal hell to remember every dark moment in my life. Yet being human and naive was something I missed and sometimes these memories were worth reliving if it meant I could catch a glance of my mother or of my younger self. I just wanted to sleep in this darkness and not have to wake up to the hell that was waiting for me out in the real world. Yet my desires to pick one hell over the other wasn't really a choice.   
        _"Diana...can you hear me?"  
        _A whisper breaks into the deep chambers of my mind and all I wanted was to ignore the blinding light that was shining through the darkness.   
        " _Diana,_ " I hear more loudly. " _Can you hear me? I need you to answer me, Diana._ "   
        I didn't want to wake up. No, I just wanted to stay in this darkness and ignore the pain that would come if I woke up.   
        " _Diana! We don't have much time._ "   
        I hear a piercing sound, causing me to snap awake. I clutch my head and sit up, or try to. Instead I fall back on the floor groaning in pain. The sound disappears once I wake up and I find myself on the floor of the Hale house. A blanket covered my nude body and Derek was looking down at me with concern.   
        "That sound..." I whisper. "What was it?"  
        Derek points beside me and I notice Deaton holding up a dog whistle. I growl at him as I take it away from him and throw it on the other side of the room.   
        "You're such an ass..." I whisper as I sat up and clutched the blanket closer to me.   
        "You're gonna be weak for several hours." Deaton states.  
        I look at him confused but then recognize our surroundings and images of what happened earlier tonight came back. I shivered at the thought and Derek immediately holds me closer to him.   
        "It actually happened." I state. "Peter's actually... and my wolf, she's..."  
        "Don't worry. You're still an Alpha."  
        "I don't care!" I exclaim at Deaton. "He... he took... _he took_..."   
        My shaking panic quickly turned into shaking rage.  
        "Where is he?" I growl.  
        "I wish I could tell you." Deaton answers.  
        "Then how about you tell us what you're doing here, and why you're helping us." Derek states for the first time since I've woken up. It was clear he didn't trust Deaton, but I did. Deaton glances at me before turning his focus to Derek.   
        "Helping your family actually used to be a pretty important part of my life. Helping you was a promise I made to your mother." Deaton answers him.  
        "You're the one my sister talked about." Derek states. "She said you're a kind of advisor?"  
        "She was right." Deaton states. "And I have some advice that you need to listen to very closely right now. What Peter managed to do doesn't come without a price. He'll be physically weak, human..."  
        "No, he's not human." I state shivering but not intentionally. My wolf inside me whined and her fear was once again transferring to me. "He took my fangs."   
        "He did what?" Derek exclaims beside me.   
        "He made me turn into my wolf and took my fangs."   
        "Diana..." Deaton states concerned etched all over his face.   
        "He hurt my wolf and I'm going to make him hurt." I state shakily getting on my own two feet. "I want to hurt him myself!"           
        "That's what he wants you to do, Diana." Deaton states. "As I said before, Peter will be weak as a human and as a werewolf. Taking your fangs will give him werewolf abilities but not in the same way as an Alpha bite would. Peter will rely on the strength of his intelligence, his cunning."  
        Deaton then turns to Derek and sighs.   
        "He's gonna come at you, Derek. He'll try to twist his way inside your head, preying on your insecurities. He'll tell you that he's the only way you can stop Gerard. Do not trust him."  
        "I don't trust anyone." Derek states.  
        "I know." Deaton answers sadly. "If you did, you might be the Alpha you like to think you are. And unfortunately, the one person you should trust doesn't trust you at all."  
        "Scott." Derek answers. Deaton nods but his stare lands on me and I knew he was warning me to be careful of what came next. I pull the blanket closer to me and look away.  
        "Scott's with the Sheriff." Deaton tells us. "You need to find him, you need to find him as fast as you can. I've known Gerard for a long time. He always has a plan. Something tells me... it's going exactly the way he wants it to." 

  
*************

  
        Deaton was smart enough to bring me a [bag of clothes](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=198719216). I changed quickly and threw the blanket on the back of Derek's camaro. He didn't seem happy and neither was I. I could feel his anger radiate off of him as he drove silently through the night. I was angry as well, but because of completely different reasons. The next time I see Peter I will break every bone on his body, let it heal, and begin the process all over again.   
        My thought of all the unendable torture I would make Peter go through were disrupted when Derek grabs a hold of my shaking hand. I hadn't notice that it started to do that but here I was shaking like a small chihuahua.   
        "Are you ok?"   
        "Me? Yeah, I'm fine." I answer nonchalantly. "Just you know... plotting your evil uncle's death, that's all."   
        "Peter will pay for what he did to you."   
        "Believe me, Derek when I say that I don't particularly like killing people but Peter... Peter's death I am  _so_ going to enjoy."  
        Derek glances at me worriedly but I was still shaking anxiously and I wasn't sure if I could blame it on my anger anymore.   
        "Diana?" Derek asks me quietly.    
        "I'm sorry..." I whisper as I tried to hold the rising of tears. "I'm just... oh god... I feel violated. My most personal self, my wolf, was violated and I couldn't do anything about it."  
         Derek's hold on my hand tightens and I smiled weakly at him.   
        "I'm fine," I whisper. "Or I will be soon. I just... I need to make sure Scott's ok. The way Deaton warned us made it sound like Scott's in trouble."   
        Derek nods at that and presses the acceleration causing us to shoot forward. The trees blurred past us as Derek drove faster. My shaking seized as the police department came into view. All the lights were on but no one seemed to be at the front desk. A bad feeling washed over me and I stopped Derek from walking in.   
        "Something's wrong." I state.   
        "What do you mean?" Derek asks me.   
        I close my eyes allowing my werewolf senses to overtake my human ones and I catch the large scent of blood coming from the building.   
        "Derek, I smell blood..." I whisper as I turn back to face him. Yet I was unable to as I felt a slight pain on the back of my neck. I slowly place my hand on the wound and see the drops of blood on my fingers. Derek's arm reaches my waist and I vaguely catch sight of a kanima Jackson behind us.   
        "Oh, thank God. Diana, Derek..." Scott calls out as he opens the police department doors. I turn to face him, unable to speak, and instead found myself falling to the floor. I land on top of Derek and we both groan in pain. The kid I barely knew as Matt crouches in front of us with a grin on his face.   
        "This is the one controlling him?" Derek asks annoyed. "This kid?"  
        "Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big, bad werewolf with a hot werewolf mate girlfriend." Matt answers. I look at him surprised as he knew what Derek and I both were and Matt takes notice of that. He stands up and faces Scott and Stiles. "Oh, yeah, that's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas. It's like a frickin' Halloween party every full moon. Except for you, Stiles. What do you turn into?"  
        "Abominable snowman. But, uh, it's more of, like, a wintertime thing, you know, seasonal." Stiles replies sarcastically. Matt didn't take that too well and the next thing I know, Jackson cuts Stiles on the back of his neck.   
        "Hey!" Scott shouts but Jackson threatens him too and Scott was unable to do anything but let Stiles fall to the floor beside us.   
        "You bitch." Stiles states from his face forward land on the floor.   
        "You're so on my kill list." I growl as I glare at Matt.   
        "You two are really made for each other." Matt taunts as he points at Derek and I. "Making threats even though you won't ever be able to follow through. It must kinda suck, though, to have all that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless."   
        "Still got some teeth." Derek responds this time. "Why don't you get down here a little closer, huh? We'll see how helpless I am."  
        Matt just smiles at him before standing up. He was about to respond but lights flashed the police department office and his smile grew even bigger.   
        "Is that her?" Matt asks turning to Scott. I wasn't sure who this  _her_ was but I was growing afraid as to how many people were becoming his hostage. "Do what I tell you to and I won't hurt her. I won't even let Jackson near her."  
        "Scott, don't trust him!" Stiles shouts beside us. Matt not liking the interruption forces Stiles around and presses the heel of his shoe on his neck.   
        "This work better for ya?" Matt asks not relieving any pressure from Stiles' neck.   
        "Matt, stop! Please stop!" I shout as I felt weak and defenseless as I watched all of this go down. I tried to force my limbs to move but I was still paralyzed. "Please, Matt, stop!"   
        "Okay, just stop! Stop!" Scott shouts and Matt actually let's a red-face Stiles go. I sigh in relief and let my head drop back on Derek's chest.   
        "Do what I tell you to." Matt states as he let's Scott open the door.   
        "Okay." Scott answers looking at all of us worriedly.   
        Matt nods, still holding the gun in his hand and turns to Jackson.   
        "You, take them in there." Matt orders him as he motions to us and the Sheriff's office. Matt then turns to Scott. "You, with me."  
        Jackson pulls Stiles, Derek and I into the secluded office. I was still luckily on top of Derek and I looked around our surroundings trying to see if anything or anyone could help us. Jackson stared at us with his yellow kanima eyes and I turn away as I heard a gunshot ring through the department.   
        "Oh god, my dad... my dad's he's here." Stiles gasps beside us.   
        "It's not your dad," I answer as I felt a growing pain on my side. "It's Scott."   
        "Diana?" Derek asks concerned below me.   
        "I'm fine," I whisper as the pain fades away. "Not the first time I've been shot and it won't certainly be the last."   
        It didn't take long before Matt and Scott joined us again. Scott's side was bleeding but he was still walking just fine. I sighed in relief as I caught sight of him feeling less stressed than I was before.   
        "The evidence is gone. Why don't you just go?" Scott asks him.   
        "You think the evidence mattered that much, huh?" Matt asks him still on edge. "No, no, I want the book!"   
        "What book?" Scott asks confused.   
        "The bestiary." Matt states. I look down at Derek and we both shared a look of concern. "Not just a few pages, I want the entire thing."   
        "I don't have it. It's Gerard's." Scott tells him. "What do you want it for, anyway?"  
        "I need answers." Matt responds.   
        "Answers to what?"  
        "To this." Matt says as he pulls up his shirt. All along his side were green/gray scales that looked a lot like the kanima's scales. I closed my eyes and turn away from the sight. No one in the room offered a response and Matt forced Scott to give up his phone. I wasn't sure who he was texting but something told me he was inviting more people to this party. Matt forces Scott to leave the room and Jackson remains at the exit analyzing our every move.   
        "Hey, either of you know what's happening to Matt?" Stiles whispers to us.  
        "I know, the book's not gonna help him." Derek answers. "You can't just break the rules, not like this."  
        "What do you mean?" I ask him curious myself.  
        "Universe balances things out. Always does."  
        "Is it because he's using Jackson to kill people who don't deserve it?" Stiles asks.  
        "And killing people himself." Derek states.  
        "So if Matt breaks the rules of the kanima, he becomes the kanima?" Stiles concludes.  
        "Balance." I murmur as everything made sense.  
        "Will he believe us if we tell him that?" Stiles asks.  
        "Not likely." Derek responds.   
        "Okay... he's gonna kill all of us when he gets that book, isn't he?"  
        "Yep."  
        "All right, so what do we do?" Stiles asks more urgently. "Do we just... do we just sit here and wait to die?"  
        "Unless I can figure out a way to push the toxin out of my body faster. Like triggering the healing process." Derek states.   
        "Der... what are you...?" I ask confused until I look down and notice his claws stabbing into his own leg.   
        "What are you doing?" Stiles asks disgusted. "Aw, gross."   
        "You know it's the only way we can get out of here," Derek justifies. I didn't want to agree with him but he was right.   
        "Tell me what to do," I state looking down at him. "How can I help?"   
        Derek looks up at me and sighs. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.   
        "Ok, I need you to... I need you to stick your claws on my chest." Derek tells me. I nod at that and do as he says. I force my wolf to wake up and let my claws dig through his shirt and into the flesh of his chest. Derek muffles out his groan as his eyes turn red for a flicker of a second.   
        There was nothing else to do but wait. In the next room, I could distantly hear Matt recounting some incident from his past. Some hell he went through but I couldn't focus much on it when Derek dug his claws deeper into his leg trying to get his healing process to act faster.   
        "So is that hypothetical situation we talked about getting any less hypothetical?" Stiles asks beside us.   
        "I think so." Derek answers causing hope to rise in this dreaded situation. "I can move my toes."   
        Stiles and I sigh at the same time.   
        "Babe, I can move my toes." I say tiredly.   
        "Yeah, me too babe." Stiles states beside us. Derek growls and luckily for Stiles he was paralyzed from doing any harm to him.   
        "Ok, I can't wait any longer." I state retracting my claws from his chest. "It's time for Plan B."   
        "What's Plan B?" Stiles asks.   
        Both of them look at me confused but I don't give a verbal answer and instead allow my eyes shift to their red nature.   
        "Diana, what the...?" Derek asks seeing my change but before he could finish his questions, my teeth latch onto the skin of his shoulder. Derek's eyes turned red and he immediately grabs my arm and turns us around. I gasp as my back hits the floor but was still unable to move. Derek looks down at me with a slight glare. "What was that for?!"   
        "I thought it was about time you were on top for once." I answer sarcastically. Derek raises his eyebrows, not amused at my response. "I take it you can move now?"   
        "Yeah," Derek answers. "How did you...?"   
        "My Mate mark has always been sensitive, I just assumed it would be for you too." I answer. "So can you please do me?"   
        "Please someone kill me now for the _that's what she said_ joke that just popped into my head..." Stiles mutters beside us.  
        Derek and I both ignore him as Derek's eyes shine red. Before he could do anything, all of the lights go off in the police department and a loud alarm goes off. Gunfire is then heard all around us, windows shattering, destroying everything in sight. Derek covers me with his body until the gunfire stops. It was far from over as something is dropped in through the broken windows and smoke fills all of the office.   
        "Derek, you have to do it now!" I shout.   
        With no delay, Derek's red eyes glow through the smoke and I suddenly felt his bite latch to my neck. I felt my whole body grow extremely hot and I sit up immediately, a faint growl passing through my lips.   
        "That felt..." I start to say.  
        "Weird." Derek finishes for me. "I know."    
        Scott comes running into the room and stares at all of us in a panic.   
        "Take him," I order him as I motion to a still paralyzed Stiles. Scott pulls Stiles' up and runs out of the room. Derek remained behind with me as he helped me up from the floor. We were both able to move now and that's when I felt Derek change.   
        "Derek..." I call out concerned. Derek's red eyes glowed and his wolf form was clear to see in the darkness of the office. "What are you...?"   
        "I'm going to kill the kid." Derek states. "I can't see another choice."   
        Derek starts to walk out of the room but I grab his arm and force him to look at me.   
        "You can't change my mind." Derek growls at me.   
        "I'm not," I answer with a sigh. "I just... I don't want you to die. Matt is going to wield Jackson even more so than before. He'll make him kill anything in sight." I close my eyes knowing that the words I was going to say next would go to deaf ears. "Please be careful."    
        Derek's Alpha eyes were hard to read and it took me by surprise when his lips crashed against mine for a split second. I could feel a faint growl in his throat as he pulled away. Derek left the room without another word and I took a second to collect myself before starting on my search for Scott and Stiles.   
        I stumbled, still weak from Peter's kidnapping and the kanima paralytic poison, as I made my way through the less smoky halls of the police department. I tried to tap into my wolf sense but I could only smell fear, panic, and anger. I heard silent and subtle steps approach the hallway. I pressed myself as close as I could to the wall analyzing my situation. I didn't have any weapons with me and my wolf was still too wounded to want to make an appearance. It would have to come down with my hand-to-hand combat   
        The footsteps approach closer and my senses were in a frenzy not allowing to see if it was friend or foe. Suddenly, a crossbow appears in front of me and Allison was wielding it. As I catch sight of her, I make the mistake of relaxing.   
        "You have to get out of here, Allison..." I begin to say as I push off the wall but this just allowed Allison to aim the crossbow at me.  
        "Where's Derek?" she asks me.  
        "Allison, what are you doing?" I ask confused as I raised my hands over my head.   
        "You're mate!" Allison growls. "Where is he?!"   
        I remained silent, taking in the familiar image of her tight hold on the crossbow. She was angry, in a rage, and I could only think it was because of the loss of her mother and the role that Derek played in it.   
        "If you're not going to tell me, then we'll have to do this the hard way." Allison states. I could see her finger land on the trigger and it was her mistake to think it was going to be easy for her to simply shoot me.  
        I quickly drop both of my hands to her crossbow causing it to clatter on the floor. Allison quickly wields a knife from a holder on her leg but before she could spin it into her grasp, I grab her arm, force it onto her back, and push her into the hallway hall.   
        "Naive, little girl." I growl out as she struggles in my arms. "You're fighting angry and you should know that fighting angry reveals your weakness. I'm faster, stronger, and more skilled than you are, Allison. Your grandfather should have warned you not to fight with me. I have years of experience and my experience ranges more than your petty crossbows and angry blows."   
        Allison fights angrily in my arms but it was no use. She wouldn't be able to escape my grasp.   
        "Besides... knives are my thing." I state pulling the dagger out of her hand and stabbing it strongly into the wall beside her. "I understand your anger, Allison. But if you're coming for Derek, you're coming for me too."   
        I easily let her go and slip quickly into the hallway not allowing her a chance to come after me again. Though I suspected that my warning was clear enough for her to not attempt to cross me. I find myself navigating through the halls again and find the jail cells. Sheriff Stilinski was knocked unconscious on the floor, Melissa was locked in one of the cells, Derek was fighting the kanima, and Scott and Stiles were nowhere in sight.   
       Derek manages to keep the kanima's focus on him. Using this distraction I run to the Sheriff and take his pulse. He was alive and breathing and I sighed in relief at that. Derek and the kanima were still fighting so I look up at a frightened Melissa who stared at me with fear and confusion through the cell bars.   
        "I'm gonna get you out of here, ok?" I assure her. "I just need you to trust me."   
        Melissa just nods as tears threatened to spill.   
        "Please, get me out of here." she whispers. "My son's been shot and I need to... I need to make sure he's ok."   
        I wasn't sure what to tell her. It was obvious that Scott has yet to tell her what he was and the abilities he had as a werewolf. So I simply nodded at Melissa and tried to break the cell with my own physical strength but it was no use. I sighed and let my red eyes glow. Melissa catching sight of this starts to back away from me. I didn't let it bother me as I pull on the cell doors and heard it creak and groan. The metal bars were slowly pulling apart but I didn't get the chance to make a big enough entrance for Melissa as the kanima crashed against me.   
        I was pushed into the wall and I fall onto to the floor. I look up to see the kanima using the cage door as a leverage as he kicked Derek onto the opposing wall. Derek crashes and falls into a heap on the floor. I forget Melissa and the kanima as I ran towards him.  
        "Derek!" I shout as I reach his body and pull him onto my lap. He was barely conscious and his breathing was slowing down. I look up to the kanima who was attempting to reach Melissa now but was unable to because of the closely placed metal bars.   
        He hissed and clawed at her and all Melissa did was back into the corner crying at the unusual supernatural creature that had caused so much destruction. All of a sudden, Scott makes his way into the room and throws the kanima out of the cell door. The kanima manages to land skillfully on the ground and hisses at Scott. By that time, Derek had managed to snap awake again and as the kanima ran out of the room, so did Derek.   
        "Oh, God, Scott?" Melissa whimpers catching sight of him. "Scott, you okay? Scott?"  
        Scott was crouching now and his yellow eyes glowed at me. I could see his reluctance into seeing his mom. This wasn't how he was supposed to reveal his biggest secret. Scott slowly turns to face her and once again, Melissa begins to back away into a corner.   
        "No..." she whispers. "No."   
        "Scott," I call out as I stand up and walk up to him. Melissa was unseen by the darkness of the cell but you could hear her cry silently. "Scott, we should go."   
        Scott reluctantly allows me to lead him away. I could feel his broken heart and the misery he was feeling about his revelation. Though as usual, he was dealing with things that weren't meant for teenagers, and he managed to forget his misery in order to continue forward.   
        We both start running through the hallway now. Distant gunshots and fighting occurring in different parts of the police department. I inform Scott about my encounter with Allison and that I had no idea where Derek ran off to revealing all of these details that we had worked so hard on in the beginning almost void and useless. As I gave him tidbits of information, we find Gerard waiting for us in the hallway. We both stop running and approach him carefully.   
        "What are you doing here?" I ask him. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."  
        "Trust me, I'm aware of that." Gerard states.   
        "We've done everything that you've asked of us." I tell him upset. "I got close to Derek, Scott's a part of my pack, we've given you all the information that you wanted, Scott told you Matt was controlling Jackson..."   
        "Then leave him to us." Gerard interrupts. "Help your friends. Leave Matt and Jackson to me. Deal with your mother. Deal with your pack."  
        Scott and I reluctantly believe him and it was obvious by our expression.   
        "Both of you go!" he orders us.   
        I glare at him and grab onto Scott as we both start to walk away. We both end up bumping into Gerard, his pill case falls onto the floor. Scott immediately picks it up and offers it to Gerard.   
        "You dropped this." Scott states.  
        Gerard grabs it from Scott with no hesitation and pockets it.   
        "Go!" he yells once more.   
        I grab Scott again and start to haul him out of the police department. Once outside, I pull him into a hug sighing in relief.   
        "Things should get better from here," I whisper to him. "We can only go up now."   
        "But what if this isn't rock bottom?" Scott asks me.  
        "How can this not be rock bottom?" I ask him. "We've lost so much already. What else could go wrong?"   
        "Something's just not right," Scott tells me. "I have a bad feeling like things are about to get a hell of a lot worse."   
        All relief I had from Gerard's torment disappears. I had a thing about bad feelings and all they ever brought was pain and death. I so wish to tell him that it was a false alarm but bad feelings never steered wrong. My life was proof of that. 


	33. Battlefield

        The ticking of the clock resonated throughout the small corner office. I tapped my fingers[ on my lap ](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=200258291)as I stared at Marin Morell and she simply stared back. It wasn't some blinking competition but if it were we were both tied. No, this wasn't a competition of that sort. This was a game to see who would break the silence first, who would speak up and talk about the matter at hand. I quirked an eyebrow and she just sighed as she leaned back on her chair, giving up.    
        "You came here wanting to talk." she simply states in which I nod. "Are you here to talk to a friend, an ally, or the school-counselor?"   
        "All three," I sigh out. "Deaton thought it would be best if I talked to someone."    
        "Ok," she answers leaning over again, pen at hand. "What do you want talk about? Is this about the death of Matt?"   
        "I didn't know the kid," I respond with a shrug. "Though drowning is a horrible way to go especially since that was what he was most afraid of."   
        "Are you saying that you feel pity for Matt's last moments?"  
        "I don't feel sorry for him." I answer with a shake of my head. "He killed people, hurt people I care about, tormented me and my friends. He brought people who didn't know about what was going on in play and caused irreparable damage."   
        "Ok, so you don't feel sorry for the 16 year old Matt but can you feel sorry for the nine year old Matt who drowned?" she asks me.   
        "Just because a bunch of drunk teenagers dragged him into a pool when he couldn't swim doesn't really give him the right to go off killing them one by one." I exclaim. "And I doubt that drowning trauma could explain the bunch of pictures that Sheriff Stilinski found of Allison on Matt's computer. They weren't just of her though, he photoshopped himself into these pictures. Pictures that built this whole fake relationship. The kid was definetively not sane."   
        "One positive thing came out of this, though. Right?" she asks me.   
        "Well yeah, the Sheriff got his job back." I answer. "But I still feel like there's something wrong between him and Stiles. I don't know, I'm not that close to them but I feel responsible for keeping them safe and I feel like I'm failing them."  
        "How so?"   
        "You know," I say with a chuckle. "You're really good at this whole therapist asking question thing. I feel like I'm really opening up."   
        "Answer the question, Diana." Marin says sternly. I sigh and sit up in my seat.   
        "I feel responsible for all of them, I guess." I answer. "Scott, Stiles, each of their parents, each of their friends. Ever since that Alpha fiasco... we all grew close and I know things about them that made me realize that I'm not the only one with problems. I have this need to keep them in a bubble and never let them out but I know they can't sit still. That they too want to protect each other and their family. I just... it's just hard."   
        "Ok, so you talked about Stiles and his father." Marin states. "How about Scott? Have you talked to him since that night?"   
        "No, not really. Like I said, he's got his own problems to deal with." I respond. "Ever since his mom knows that he's a werewolf, she's shut him out. I thought it best if I kept myself out of that one. Let him and Melissa talk it out or something..."   
        "And what about Allison?"   
        "What about her?" I ask back.   
        "She lost her mother and she's friends with Stiles and Scott. I thought you would have an opinion in that matter."   
        "Well I don't," I respond. "Allison attacked me that night, she thought she could get me to cough up the location of Derek, and she wasn't able to."   
        "How come?"   
        "Because she made the mistake of attacking me solo." I answer. "She's just finished her training. I finished my training and had 3 years of experience more than she has. I ended up threatening her."   
        "I would think that you two would have something in common because of the lost mother issue."   
        "We do," I answer. "And she's coping by hunting just like I did... I can't blame her but I can't help her. She's gone too deep for my help and if she wants to hunt Derek down, then she'll have to go through me, and she knows she can't beat me."   
        "That's reassuring," Marin comments sarcastically.   
        "If you have something to say, just say it."   
        She just shakes her head at me and changes the subject.  
        "You haven't talked about Isaac yet." she points out. "And every time you mention Derek you quickly shy away from that subject."  
        "Isaac's a good kid," I answer. "He's sarcastic and witty and can be a pain in the ass sometimes but I think I finally got through him. I think he trusts me now. Except now... I don't know. I haven't seen Isaac since the full moon. And I haven't seen Erica or Boyd for that matter. They've been in hiding ever since Allison turned dark side and the Argents have set their arrows towards Derek and his pack."  
        "And how about your pack?" Marin asks next.   
        "I already talked about Scott."   
        "I know, I was asking about Peter."   
        "Peter's not in my pack." I growl.   
        "The law of werewolves would say he was." Marin answers. "Your fangs were the ones who brought his wolf back. Peter became a beta because of you. He's under your protection."  
        "Well the next time I see Peter he'll need protection from myself." I answer angrily. "What he did to me is unforgivable."   
        "Ok, anger is evident there." Marin points out. "Let's move away from that subject. How about we get back to you?"   
        "Well I'm fine, I think." I answer. "Except the dreams I keep having and the constant, overwhelming, crushing feeling that something terrible's about to happen."   
        "It's called hyper-vigilance, the persistent feeling of being under threat."   
        "But it's not just a feeling, though. It's like a warning in my blood." I tell her. "Something my mom told me to listen to and the last time I ignored it... she died."           
        "So you have this fear that someone's going to die soon?"   
        "No," I say with a shake of my head. "If I don't trust this feeling someone will die or get hurt. I just... I need to be on my best right now. I need to be ready."   
        "I think that would be the best thing to do right now as well." Marin agrees.  
        "Ok," I say with a nod. "So are we done here?"   
        "No, not even close."   
        "What?"   
        "Let's talk about the one person you've been ignoring and deflecting this whole session." Marin states. "Let's talk about Derek."   
        I sigh at the mention of his name.   
        "How are things between you two?"   
        "I don't know... I haven't talked to him since that night in the police station."   
        "You haven't initiated contact?"   
        "No, I think that's the last thing he wants right now." I answer annoyed. "Do we really have to talk about this?"   
        "Seeing your discomfort, yes."   
        I sigh once more and run a hand through my hair. I let out a nervous breath, my hands resorting to tapping incessantly on my lap.  
        "I think he knows." I state causing Marin to nod at me to continue. "I think he knows about the deal I had with Gerard."   
        "So he's angry at you?"   
        "I'm angry at myself for what I'm doing." I answer. "Derek doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve to be hunted. Not by Gerard, not by Allison... All of this is my fault. If it had just stopped Derek from killing the Alpha or didn't put myself in the situation that he was forced to bite Victoria, Derek would be safe from all of this. Derek just needs a break and I can't seem to give him one."   
        "But you're protecting him. You and I know that you're protecting him. Shouldn't that be enough for him?"   
        "He doesn't know what I'm sacrificing." I answer. "He doesn't know what I'm doing."   
        "Then why don't you tell him."   
        "If I tell him, the plan that Scott and I worked so hard in fails. If I tell him, I ruin everything. It's better if he's mad at me, he'll be safer that way."   
        "No, that's not what I want you to tell him."   
        "I don't know what else I could tell him." I state confused to Marin's stern stare. She just sighs at my response.   
        "Why haven't you told him you love him?"   
        "Because I'm not in love with him."   
        "That's a lie and you know it."   
        "I'm not lying!" I exclaim. "Derek and I have barely... he won't even talk to me right now and we're in the middle of a crisis and I just..."   
        "You love him and you're afraid."   
        "No I'm not, I'm not..." I stutter out, my heart beating fast due to the off chance possibility. "I can't... I can't be in love with him. No, I can't..."   
        "I think we got our breakthrough." Marin states as she starts writing down her notes. "I think we're done here."   
        I look up at her confused, unsure of what just happened.   
        "I love him." I confess to myself. "Oh God, I love him." 

*************

        I walk into my home for the first time in a few days. After the past week of dodging questions, the conversation with Marin, false explanations to what happened in the police department, and Deaton just looking at me as if I was a ticking time bomb, I finally made it home. A home that was empty from a grumpy Alpha and an annoyingly sarcastic beta. I plopped down on the couch trying to ignore the silence that the house contained.  
        I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. The feeling in my gut that things were about to get worse was still there. Derek wasn't answering my calls and he was no longer staying at the abandoned warehouse. Isaac texted me every once and while but just to tell me he was alright.   
        Everything I had tried so hard to protect was slipping through my fingers and I feared for what else I could probably lose right now. The ringing of my cellphone snapped me out of my thoughts and I answered it as I noticed it was Scott.   
        " _Diana, is so nice of you to pick up the phone._ "   
        I had to restrain myself from hanging up as I noticed that Gerard had somehow gotten to Scott without my knowing.   
        "What do you want?" I growl at him.   
        " _I want to talk_ ," he simply answers. " _You haven't been answering the phone when I call you._ "  
        "Whatever you're doing to Scott, you better let him go."   
        " _Oh, well I'm not doing anything to Scott."_ Gerard answers smugly. _"What I'm doing to his mother is another thing though..."  
        _"Gerard..."  
        _"T_ _here's been some interesting developments lately, Diana."_ Gerard states. _"As of a while ago, I've gained control of the kanima."_  
"I will slit your throat out the next time I see you," I threaten as I hear this.   
         _"Come on, Diana._ _Let's be realistic about who's got the upper hand here."_  
"Whatever you're doing, let Scott and Melissa go. This is between you and me."   
         _"Then you should really answer the phone when I call you."_  
        "Let them go, and we can talk about whatever you want."   
         _"_ _I want the same thing that I have always wanted."_ Gerard responds. _"I want Derek and his pack."_  
"You have them all in hiding." I answer. "How am I supposed to know where they are?"   
       _"_ _I think with the proper motivation, you could draw them out."_ Gerard answers. _"I now have the kanima under my control, giving me a fairly impressive means by which I can motivate people and you have no short list of people you care about."_  
        "Why are you doing this?" I ask him. "We were done. We had a deal."   
        _"The kanima is no easy beast to control."_  
        "Spare me the history lesson." I growl.   
       _"_ _Why do you think I'm able to control him, Diana? Oh, you know the myth. The kanima is a weapon of vengeance."_  
"This is about your bitch of a daughter, Kate?" I asks him angrily.  
         _"_ _I didn't just come here to bury my daughter."_ Gerard answers. _"I came to avenge her."_  
"Well, listen to me loud and clear Gerard." I state. "You think that's going to come easy for you, well it's not. I will kill you. I will kill you and every hunter that stands with you. I will hunt you down and you will be  _begging_ for mercy. Do you hear me? Do you understand what you've started?"   
         _"Ah... how I missed that little firecracker fire in you DiDi. I'm looking forward to whatever plans you have for me."  
        _I was ready to respond with more threats but Gerard ended the call. Another one comes in, it was Scott again and I answered quickly.  
        "Hey, is everything alright?" I ask him.   
         _"My mom's shaken up and she won't talk to me._ "   
        "I'll take that as a no."   
         _"What are we going to do, Diana?"  
        _"Nothing," I answer. "We don't have much of a choice." 

*************

Third POV,  _Hale House_  
  
        Derek quickly looked over every book his family owned dedicated to the supernatural. He looked through every chest and box he still owned. It's been a week and he still continued to desperately find a way to kill the kanima. Yet he had looked through most of his collection and found nothing. He didn't want to ask Diana for help. Hell, he didn't want to admit he needed help. So in his stubbornness, Derek continued to search.   
        After searching through another chest, book at hand, did Derek sense another presence in the room. He could also sense their dread in being here, but it was different than the other times. They came here with a dreaded decision to leave him. He could feel the loosening of the beta bonds and became to feel weaker.   
        "You decided." Derek states turning around to a frightened Erica and Boyd who nod. "When?"   
        "Tonight." Erica responds.   
        "Everyone's gonna be at the game." Boyd explains. "We figured it was the best time."   
        "It's not like we want to." Erica tells him trying to mend the situation.  
        "What _do_ you want?" Derek demands more than ask.  
        "Since I just turned 16 a month ago, I wouldn't mind getting my license. I can't do that if I'm dead, you know." Erica answers.  
        "Well, I told you there was a price." Derek reminds her.  
        "Yeah, but you didn't say it would be like this." Boyd responds.   
        "Yeah, but I told you how to survive. You do it as a _pack_." Derek exclaims. "And you're not a pack without an Alpha."  
        "We know." Boyd tells him.   
        "You wanna look for another pack?" Derek asks him sensing their emotions again. "How are you even gonna find one?"    
        "We think we already did." Boyd tells him.   
        "What do you mean?" Derek asks them.  
        "We were running in the woods last night," Erica explains to him. "And like all of a sudden we heard all this howling. It was unbelievable."  
        "There must have been a dozen of them." Boyd continues.   
        "Maybe more." Erica says excitedly.  
        "Yeah, or maybe only two." Derek exclaims. "You know what the Beau Geste effect is? If they modulate their howls with a rapid shift in tone, 2 wolves can sound like 20."  
        "Look that doesn't matter, okay? There's another pack out there. There's got to be." Erica responds. "We've made up our minds."  
        "Yeah, we lost, Derek." Boyd responds. "And it's over. We're leaving."  
        "No. No, you're running." Derek points out. "And once you start, you don't stop. You'll always be running."  
        Erica doesn't wait any longer knowing that if she and Boyd stayed any longer that Derek would probably be able to convince them to stay. He might even call up Diana and then it would be harder for them to leave. Erica grabs Boyd hand and pulls him out of the house.   
        Derek felt weaker the instant they took the step out of the house. He turned away and tried to take a deep breath but wasn't allowed the chance when he felt another presence in the room. Derek grabbed the shard of a broken mirror, seeing the reflection of a broken man, before throwing it across the room. Peter instantly grabs it before it could slice his neck.   
        "I expected a slightly warmer welcome." Peter states pulling the shard away from him. "But point taken."

*************

_I was out of breath and felt like I was going to pass out any second now. I love running and I love running with my mother but she was pushing me past my limit. I probably looked like a pool noodle barely keeping afloat while my mother seemed like she could run a few miles more. My tired mind couldn't comprehend how that could even be possible. I kept up with her though and before I realized it we had past the finish line.  
        I dropped down onto the grass and tried to catch my breath. My mother laughed as she gracefully sat down beside me and handed me a water bottle. She wasn't breathing heavily or sweating profusely, no, she was beautiful as always. She was made for this while I was just attempting to. I sighed as I finally sat up.   
        "I don't know how you do it." I answer. "You could have kept running for another 100 miles."   
        "Probably 3 or 5 more..."   
        "Exactly!" I exclaim. "It would be 5 miles for you but it would have felt like a 100 to me."   
        "Don't worry, querida." my mother says patting my lead. "You'll get there."   
        "I don't know about that," I answer. "We've been running together ever since I could stand on my two feet. I haven't been able to reach your level. How do you do it?"   
        "There's not some secret or trick to get where I am." my mother responds. "It's just something you have to keep practicing."   
        "I don't know how much longer I can run, mom..."   
        "That's why you're falling short, Diana." my mother states getting up. I look at her confused and she holds her hands out for me to take. "Running isn't about a limit, it's about a purpose."  
        "I don't get it." I ask her as I take her hands and allow her to pull me up. She leads me back to the track and we start our cool off walk.   
        "Running for me was never about the work out or for sport." my mom starts to explain to me. "I always run with a purpose. Whether I was running away from something or running towards something."   
        "What was that something?" I ask her.   
        "I was raised to run with wolves." my mother says, her eyes becoming distant.  
        "Are you raising me to run with wolves?" I ask my mother causing her to snap out of it.  
        "No," she answers quickly. "No, I'm raising you to be able to run. Run fast and far because there will come a day when you'll have to run. You'll have to leave everything you know and love behind. You're going to have to run away and I need you to be able to keep on going because once you start running, you don't stop."   
        "But eventually I would get tired." I answer. "I'll have to take a break, grab a glass of water, let my muscles heal..."   
        "No, Diana." my mother says shaking her head. "You can't let your guard down like that. You have to keep running."   
        "Why does this sound like we're in trouble, mom?" I ask her as I stopped walking. "Why does it sound like you're not talking about running anymore?"   
        My mother takes a deep breath and just smiles at me faintly. She pulls me into a hug and presses a kiss on the top of my head. Her hold tightened and she didn't seem ready to let me go.   
        "I can only hope that nothing ever goes wrong with us." my mother says as she pulls away. "But if that dreaded day comes knocking on our door, I'll like to know that I prepared you the best way I could." _

_*************_

After a few minutes of Deaton looking over everything possible, paying closer attention to my teeth, was I finally able to shift back to my human form. I pulled the robe over me after my check-up. Deaton turned away giving me the privacy I needed and Scott was feeding the dogs while I quickly got dressed. Once I pulled my hair up did I tell him he could turn around.  
        "How's it looking Doc?" I ask him jokingly.   
        "Everything's fine," Deaton answers.   
        "And my fangs?"   
        "They've grown out again." Deaton says looking over his chart. "The question that remains is if you still have the ability to create betas but..."   
        "I'm not going to be trying that out anytime soon." I answer pushing myself off the table. "Anything else you need to tell me?"   
        "Your Mate scar is gone." Deaton points out putting his chart away. "Care to explain how that happened?"   
        "We uh... were intimate," I quickly answer with an awkward cough. Deaton sighs as he hears this, rubbing his eyes before looking at me seriously. "Don't look at me that way. You're judging me."  
        "I'm not going to tell you what you can or cannot do but what you should already know what this means and what you're doing to that poor boy."   
        "He's not a boy, Deaton." I state.   
        Deaton just sighs.   
        "Look, Derek and you are grown adults. You should know what you're doing but it's clear that you're don't. That you specifically are going to cause more damage on him."   
        "Don't you think I know that?!" I exclaim. "That I'm leading him on but it's not like I can help it, Deaton! I can't stop... I can't stop what I'm feeling."   
        I take a deep breath as I tried to keep these new wave of emotions from rising.   
        "I love him, Deaton." I state. "There I said it. I love him."   
        "Then do the right thing."   
        "I am!" I shout. "This plan will protect him from all the damage my past will cause him."  
        "That's a lie and you know it."   
        "You and your sister are very alike, saying the same crappy sentence."   
        "Diana..." Deaton says tiredly. "You're protecting yourself."  
        "I'm not... I'm protecting everyone. This concerns my pack, his pack, Stiles and his father, _you._ If my grandmother catches word about me, we're dead. Actually she'll have something planned worse than death."   
        "He deserves to know."   
        "Who deserves to know what?" Scott asks entering the room.  
        "Deaton's trying to convince me to do the right thing," I answer. "But I think sticking to the plan is all we need right now, is all we can afford."     
        "There's no point in arguing with you," Deaton states. "But you know how this will end, it'll be worse if you can't make more betas. The plan will have to make a deep change."   
        "We'll adjust to make it work," I answer. "But until we get to that point we just need to keep on going. We don't have much of a choice."  
        "Fine, then I think we're all settled here." Deaton responds with a shake of his head. I sigh and ignore his disappointing glance at my direction. "Scott, bring Lola in."   
        Scott does as he's told and brings a cute fluffy dog onto the table. Scott immediately begins to prep the supplies needed while Deaton prepares the syringe. I watch them work, moving around each other as if it was always that way, and I couldn't help but find the scene familiar. A faint of a smile graced my lips before the bell rung and wiped it away.   
        "Would you mind seeing who that is?" Deaton asks me. I nod and push off the table, making my way towards the front desk but the incessant rabid barking of the kennel dogs caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look at the door. We all start to walk out and found a sheepish looking Isaac staring at all of us.   
        "It's okay, Isaac." Deaton states walking up the mountain ash secured door. "We're open."   
        Deaton opens up the boundary and allows Isaac to walk in. I check the entrance once more before going back to the office. By the time I came back, Scott was petting Lola and Deaton had just injected her a pain reliever.  
        "Why does it smell like that?" Isaac asks looking down at the sick dog. We all share a look with each other that didn't go unnoticed by Isaac. "What?"   
        "Scott said almost the same thing to me a few months ago. I'm sure Diana could tell right after she became an Alpha. But one day Scott came to work and could somehow tell the difference between which animals were getting better and which were not."   
        "She's not getting better, is she?" Isaac asks us. "Like cancer."   
        "Osteosarcoma." Deaton answers. "It has a very distinct scent, doesn't it?"  
        I couldn't help but grab Isaac's hand and lead him up to the table.   
        "I know you're well aware of what your new abilities can do for you. Improved strength, speed, and healing. You've grown and learned so much and so quickly, Isaac." I tell him. "But have you ever wondered what your new abilities could do for others?"  
        Isaac just shakes his head at me. I couldn't help but smile.   
        "Give me your hand, kid." I tell him and Isaac complies. I place it on the dog's fur and Isaac looked at me confused. "Come on... go on."   
        I let go of his hand and Isaac looks down at his hand curiously as dark veins start to appear and rise into his forearm. Lola begins to shake slightly but relaxes shortly after. Isaac quickly retracts his hand and looks up at Deaton and I shocked amazed.   
        "What did I do?" Isaac asks in a bare whisper.   
        "You took some of his pain away." I answer.   
        "Only a little bit." Deaton informs him. "But sometimes a little can make quite a difference."   
        Isaac was now the one shaking slightly and held his wrist up to his mouth, trying to hide his face from us.  
        "It's okay." Scott tells Isaac. "First time they showed me, I cried too."   
        Isaac couldn't help but chuckle as tears rose to his eyes and he looked down at his hand and then at Lola. I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug as he continued to cry and laugh out of amazement. Once he was over the initial shock did Isaac calm down enough. Deaton went to check over the other caged animals and gave us some privacy. In the meanwhile Scott was left to clean up. I looked over at Isaac and could sense the dread instantly as he avoided looking at me.   
        "They're leaving tonight," he states. "During the game."  
        "Wait, but Derek..." I start to say.   
        "I know," Isaac answers. "They've already told him."  
        "So, why are you telling us?"   
        "I'm not telling you." Isaac answers. "I'm asking you. I'm asking for your advice."  
        "From us?" Scott asks him.   
        "No, from _you_." Isaac answers looking at me.   
        "Why?" I ask.  
        "Because I trust you."  
        "Is this because I'm an Alpha?" I ask him. "Because I don't think that's a good reason to go behind Derek's back and..."   
        "It's because you always seem to want to do the right thing." Isaac answers. "You and Scott just seemed to know what you're doing."   
        "I usually have no idea what I'm doing." Scott states. "Actually I always have no idea what I'm doing."   
        "Hmm." Isaac hums looking at both of us. "Do you want to let me know what either of you are doing right now?"   
        "I'm not going anywhere, Isaac." I answer. "I have too many people here that I need to protect."  
        "Well, I guess that makes me lucky 'cause uh... 'cause I don't have anyone, so."  
        "Isaac..." I start to say.  
        "Look, thanks for everything." Isaac states. "For a home, for being there for me, and everything else. I can't be thankful enough."   
        "But you're going with them." I say as I pushed down my emotions and pulled up my mask. I looked away from him and settled with staring at the gray wall.  
        "Yeah. Yeah, I think I will." Isaac answers looking at me sadly. "Good luck with the game though."  
        "Well, thanks, but we're not... we're not going either." Scott answers for both of us.   
        "Yeah, ever since Gerard's threats and Matt, I can't think of working."   
        "And I can't even think about playing some meaningless game right now." Scott continues.  
        "You two weren't at practice last week, were you?" Isaac asks looking in between us.  
        "No, I skipped it." Scott answers.   
        "And I haven't gone to work for weeks now." I tell him. "Why?"  
        "Then you didn't hear?" Isaac asks now looking alarmed.   
        "Hear what?" Scott asks.   
        "Jackson was there."   
        I turn back to them restraining myself from the string of curses I wanted to spill. This was not a good sign. None of this was.   
        "What do you mean _there_?" I ask him. "Like, he was..."  
        "...As if nothing had happened." Isaac tells me.   
        "Really?" Scott exclaims. "That means... the game tonight?"  
        Isaac looked at us with concerned and nodded.   
        "Yeah," Isaac sighs out. "He's playing."  
        I shake my head as I turn to look at Scott. We both had the same idea twirling around in our minds and neither of us liked where it was going to lead us. I let out a deep breath and turned away. We didn't have much choice but to just keep on going.  

*************

        I skipped Coach's speech not in the mood to deal with his personality. I settled myself on the bench ready to watch the lacrosse final games. After this, I wasn't sure what I would do with my spare time but something told me that I wouldn't have to worry much about that. The whole lacrosse team finally came out and got in their positions. Scott wasn't among them and instead he and Stiles sat beside me with their helmets and sticks thrown on the ground.   
        "What's going on?" I ask him. "Why aren't you playing?"   
        "I've missed practice, my grades aren't that great, and Gerard ordered it so." Scott answers.   
        "I never play so..." Stiles mutters before looking away awkwardly.   
        "Your dad coming?" Scott nudges him.   
        "Yeah, he's already here." Stiles answers pointing to the Sheriff who was talking to Scott's mom. I look away as more people came sitting down on the benches.   
        "You seen Allison?" Scott asks.           
        "No, you seen Lydia?" Stiles asks in return.   
        "Not yet." Scott answers.   
        "Either of you know what's going on?" Stiles asks as he nervously fidgeted.   
        "Not yet." I answer as I catch sight of Gerard standing near the fields.   
        "It's going to be bad, isn't it?" Stiles asks us. "I mean, like people screaming, running for their lives, blood, killing, maiming kind of bad?"  
        "Looks like it." Scott answers hesitantly.   
        "You guys, the other night seeing my dad get hit over the head by Matt, you know, while I'm just lying there and I can't even move, it just..." Stiles rambles sadly. "I want to help, you know, but I can't do the things that you can do. I can't..."   
        "Hey, it's okay." I answer as I grab his hand.   
        "We're losing, you guys." Stiles says sadly.   
        Before I could respond, I felt the heavy breathing of an annoying Coach behind me.   
        "The hell are you talking about?" he exclaims next to my ear. "Game hasn't even started!"  
        "Can you please not do that next to my ear?" I ask him as I scoot down the bench. Coach Finstock just huffs and pats Stiles really hard on his shoulder.  
        "Stilinski," Coach shouts nonetheless. "Now put on your helmet and get out there. You're in for Greenberg."  
        "What?" Stiles asks confused. "What happened to Greenberg?"   
        "What happened to Greenberg? He sucks." Coach answers. "You suck slightly less."   
        Stiles was still trying to grasp what Coach had just said to him. His fidgeting seemed to rise to a whole other level.   
        "I'm playing?" Stiles asks. "On the field? With the team?"  
        "Yes, unless you'd rather play with yourself." Coach responds.   
        "I already did that today," Stiles replies. "Twice."   
        "Ok, that's gross Stiles." I remark pushing him off the bench. "TMI..."   
        "Listen to the nurse!" Coach exclaims. "Get the hell out there!"  
        Stiles fumbles with his equipment but manages to get it all on. I whistled at him as he finally got to the field. It was obvious he was nervous. I wasn't even using my werewolf senses to know this, it was obvious by his fidgeting and his nervous glances to every direction possible.   
        The game was about to start, the timer set, and the referees moved onto the field. Scott sighed for the hundredth time beside me as we sat aside from the rest of the team. We both had our eyes on Jackson unsure of what would happen next. It was even worse when we caught Gerard talking directly to us.  
        _"Diana and Scott, can you hear me?"_ Gerard asks. My hand grips the bench tightly, causing it to dent a little. _"Ah, you can. Good._ _Then listen closely because the game is about to get interesting."  
        _"Diana..." Scott whispers nervously beside me. I look at him wishing I could reduce his concern but all we could do was just listen.   
        _"Let's put a real clock on this game, Diana."_ Gerard states. _"I'll give you until the last 30 seconds. When that scoreboard clock begins counting down from 30, if you haven't given me Derek, then Jackson is gonna kill someone."  
        _My hands started to shake slightly as I heard this and if I were allowed to put my mask down, I would be falling into a panic attack.   
        _"You can't save anyone, Diana. So tell me, who's gonna die tonight?"_ Gerard asks me. _"Should it be Scott's mother, who so bravely came out to support him? Or how about the pretty little redhead who managed to survive the bite of an Alpha? Or the sheriff, the father of the boy you took under your wing? Or maybe the boy himself, who has a whole life ahead of him?"  
        _"He's threatening everyone." Scott exclaims beside me.   
        "Stay calm, Scott." I tell him. "This is what he wants from us. He wants us to panic."   
        "How are you so chill about this?"   
        "Because I've been trained for this Scott." I answer. "You know this."   
        Coach Finstock yells something on the field, interrupting our thoughts.   
        " _Or should I do everyone a favor and kill that ridiculous coach?"_ Gerard asks breaking through to us once again. _"It's up to you, Diana. But you are going to help me take Derek down. Because if you don't... I'll have Jackson rip someone's head off right in the middle of the field and drench everyone you swore to protect in blood."_  
        Scott was hyperventilating and I grabbed his hand. He looked at me nervously and all I could do was give him a small smile before turning my focus back towards the field. Jackson was crouched forward, ready to play or attack. Gerard wasn't kidding when he said he would attack on an open space and a crowded night like this. I've been trained for many things but this... this was out of my experience and I honestly felt like I was failing.

*************

 

  
Third POV,  _Hale House_

        Peter drops the mirror shard to the side and takes a step towards Derek. He quickly scans the remains of the study and takes notice of the scattered books. Peter was also aware of Derek's situation, eavesdropping on the conversation that Derek had just had with his, or once his, betas. There was no perfect time to step into the situation than this one. Though he knew that Derek wouldn't welcome him with open arms, he knew that he could talk himself into at least being welcomed.   
        "It's quite a situation you've got yourself in here, Derek." Peter starts off causing Derek to tighten his jaw in complete annoyance already. "I mean, I'm out of commission for a few weeks and suddenly there's lizard people, geriatric psychopaths, and you're cooking up werewolves out of every self-esteem-deprived adolescent in town."   
        "What do you want?" Derek practically growls, unsure of how he managed to keep control of himself for this long. All he wanted to do was beat Peter senseless. It wasn't just for what Peter did to him, but what he did to Diana, and even then it was more so for himself. Yet he couldn't do that without wanting to have a sense of what Peter's plan was.  
        "Well, I want to help." Peter answers his question. "You're my nephew. The only relative that I have left. You know, there's still a lot that I can teach you." Peter manages to walk up to Derek face to face and even goes out of his way to touch his shoulder. "Can we just talk?"   
        "Sure." Derek responds looking down at Peter's hand. "Let's talk."   
        Before Peter could crack a smile on his so-called process, Derek grabs Peter's arm off his shoulder and uses his other hand to grab his shoulder before using all of his strength and launching Peter across the room. Peter crashes against the staircase and crumbles onto the floor in pain. This conversation had turned into a one-sided fight so quick.   
        Derek threw, punched, kicked, and injured Peter in any way possible. He tried to justify this as revenge... payback for all of the evil he's done. The Alpha wolf tried to reason every punch to Peter's face as justice for Diana's attack yet every time he thought back to the she-wolf he grew to care about, Derek remembered her betrayal and he became more angry. He knew that the physical pain that he was causing to Peter wasn't justice, but it was therapeutic.   
        Peter is thrown down the stairs and Derek delivers a few more punches. Peter was bleeding profusely from his face and neck but once Derek pauses in his attacks, the older wolf attempts to stand up. He only manages to get onto his hands and knees before Derek kicks him down again.  
        "You don't actually think that I want to be the Alpha again, do you?" Peter groans out from his laid out position on the floor. He finally managed to sit up and not be kicked down. "That wasn't my finest performance, considering it ended in my death. I mean, I'm usually more..."  
        Derek raises his hand to punch him again and Peter just raises his head higher to Derek.   
        "Okay, go ahead! Come on, do it. Hit me, hit me!" Peter shouts using his best weapon yet, his mind and eye for observation. "I can see that it's cathartic for you. You're letting go of all the anger, self-loathing, and hatred that comes with total and complete failure. I may be the one taking the beating, Derek, but you've already been beaten. So, go ahead. Hit me if it will make you feel better. After all, I did say that I wanted to help."   
        Derek restrains a growl and pulls back his fist. He shoves Peter down, refusing to believe what he said was true, but it was.   
        "You can't help me." Derek states before stepping over him and abandoning Peter at the bottom of the stairs. Peter gives Derek his space, knowing that he needed time and space himself to heal from the countless wounds he's received. Peter backs away into the shadows and Derek after wallowing on his own takes a seat on the last few stair steps and clenches his newly healed fist.   
        "See? Prime example right here. I'm not healing as fast," Peter calls out as he looks at himself through the mirror shard. "Coming back from the dead isn't easy, you know. I'm not as strong as I used to be. I need a pack. An Alpha like you. I need you as much as you need me."  
        "Why would I want help from a total psycho?" Derek asks. "One that almost killed my..."   
        Derek trails off but Peter knows who's he referring to and hides the grin that rises on his lips.   
        "First of all, I'm not a total psycho. And by the way, you're the one that slashed my throat wide open. But we're all works in progress, right?" Peter explains himself. "Second of all, your  _whatever_  is a special kind of Alpha and it so happened she had the missing ingredient for my resurrection. Third and final reason, we need each other. Sometimes when you need help, you turn to people you'd never expect."   
        Derek stared blankly ahead at him refusing to listen to whatever Peter had to say to him. A faint reminder from Deaton appears into his mind but he ignores it as well refusing to trust the word of a man that treated Diana as his sister. Derek couldn't trust anyone anymore, he was on his own.   
        Peter could see that he was losing him and put up his act quick. He used the most valid argument in play and got into Derek's line of view to deliver it.   
        "You tried to build your pack. You tried to prepare for the worst. You weren't ready. Because of it, Gerard is winning." Peter tells Derek, the last statement catching his attention. "He's taking his time. He's toying with Scott. He's got Diana under his thumb. He's going after your wolves, one by one. He's relishing in his victory."  
        "How about you tell me something I don't know?" Derek growls at him.   
        "Oh, I'm going to." Peter chuckles. " And it's gonna prove why you should trust me. Why you need to trust me. Because I'm going to tell you how to stop Jackson."   
        "What do you mean? You know how to kill him?" Derek asks him not believing any word that Peter was saying to him. Peter just stands up a little straighter with a faint smile on his lips.  
        "Actually, I know how to save him." 

 

*************

 

        The lacrosse game seemed to reflect our situation perfectly. We were losing and very badly at that. The other team was beating us so bad that it wasn't funny. Stiles kept on struggling to make the plays. He kept on receiving the ball and bobbling it. Scott was already nervous with Gerard but with the lacrosse game going as it was, he became more anxious. He moves to stand up but Coach pushes him back down.   
        "Sit down, McCall."   
        "But, coach, we're dying out there." Scott exclaims.  
        "Oh, I'm aware of that." Coach responds. "Now sit."   
        Scott just drops his head and sighs. I pat his back unsure of what else I could do. Out of nowhere, Isaac sits down next to us, suited up to play. I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face.   
        "You stayed." I state as happy tears rose to my eyes.  
        "We're family." Isaac tells me. "I forgot what that meant but I'm here now. I hope I'm not too late."  
        "Better late than sorry..." I respond.  "You came to help."   
        "I came to win." Isaac replies with a confident smirk. His eyes look behind me and I turn to find Gerard. At that moment he turns to look at us and it seems he's become alarmed with the sight of Isaac on the bench. I couldn't help the smirk on my lips either. "You guys got a plan yet?"   
        "No, right now it's pretty much just keep Jackson from killing anyone." Scott answers.   
        "Well, that might be easier if you're actually in the game." Isaac states. "We have to make it so coach has no choice but to play you."   
        "How do we do that?" Scott asks. "He's got a bench full of guys he can use before he ever puts me on the field."  
        We all turn to the next bench and see the three seated players sitting beside Coach. They all grimaced as someone got tackled on the field. I turn back to them with an idea in mind.  
        "I hate to be that devil on your shoulder but... there is a way Coach Finstock will be  _forced_ to put you on the field." I tell him. "Just send guys my way."   
        "Can you do it without putting anyone in the hospital?" Scott asks Isaac, understanding what I was planning.  
        "I can try." Isaac says with a shrug.   
        The whistle blows loudly on the field as an injured player is forced out of the field. Coach looks down at the whole bench and catches sight of Isaac.  
        "Lahey! You're in." Coach exclaims. Isaac just grins at us before putting his helmet on and running onto the field. I turned to the injured player and quickly placed ice on his knees before sending him to the paramedics. I missed part of the action on the field but noticed one of our players on the ground and Isaac walking away.   
        "Lahey!" Coach exclaims annoyed. "Ramirez! You're in."   
        Minutes didn't even pass before Isaac tackled someone else, sending them across the field, a few feet in front of us. Coach Finstock just shakes his head.   
        "Murphy. You're in." he sighs out.  
        Players, after players, were knocked down and knocked out. I quickly aided them as best as I could before sending them to the paramedics in the ambulance nearby.   
        "Lahey! Seriously, what the hell is your problem?!" Couch shouts from the sidelines. Isaac just shrugs and shoots me a wink before running back to the field.   
        The game begins again and the ball is thrown in the air. It bounces on the ground and three of our players rush towards it. They all fumble against each other, one is pushed off to the side, and the two push against each other before one falls. It wasn't until I made out the numbers on the jerseys did I realize that Isaac was on the ground and Jackson was walking off without a scratch.   
        I dropped everything I was holding. The ice bag in my hand crashing to the ground, nipping my ankles with the cold ice hitting my skin. I didn't even wait for the whistle to blow as I ran into the field and dropped to my knees were Isaac was laid out.   
        "It's not broken." he assures me. "But I can't move it. I think Jackson nicked me 'cause I can feel it spreading."   
        "You did so great, Isaac." I say trying to keep my panic within me. "I'm so proud of you."   
        The paramedics come out onto the field with a stretcher. They place Isaac on it and I had no choice but to let them take him.   
        "I'll meet you as soon as I can, ok?" I ask him. Isaac just grimaces but manages a nod. I turn away from him and catch sight of Gerard who's smiling at me.   
        _"_ _You want to play chess, Diana?"_ he asks me. _"Then you better be willing to sacrifice your own pawns."_  
I glared at Gerard, not offering a response, and made my way back to the bench. I cleaned up the mess I made and Coach Finstock, agitated already, hands Scott a helmet.   
        "McCall. Either you're in or we forfeit."   
        Scott quickly takes the helmet and places it on his head, nodding at Coach. He leaves to sit on his bench again and I turn to Scott, my last hope in this.   
        "Hey, something's happening, isn't it?" Melissa asks running up to Scott. "Something more than a lacrosse game?"  
        "You should go." Scott tells her.   
        "Oh, I'm not going anywhere. And everything that I said before, forget it. All of it. Okay? If you can do something to help, then you do it. You have to."   
        Scott nods at her and runs towards the field. I look up at Melissa, she was still nervous about this whole thing, but she seemed better than she was before.  
        "He'll be fine." I tell her. "I've got it under control."   
        She seems to relax as I say this to her and pats my shoulder in thanks before returning to her seat. I take a deep breath and turn back to the game. I see our players get knocked down, Stiles and Scott being some of them. I suddenly become anxious and afraid of what was in play here. I was risking people's life and all I did was sit here and watch. This was happening all over again and I felt helpless.   
        " _Don't you know what you're really bargaining for, Diana?"_  I hear Gerard ask me. I turn to him but find that he's no longer watching the game. He's no longer at the field.    
        " _Haven't you guessed what the real offer on the table is?_ _It's your freedom. It's always been your freedom."_  
I scan the bleacher, the fields, the woods. I search everywhere for him but I couldn't find where he was talking to me from.   
        " _I'm good friends with your grandmother, Diana. She trusts me. One word of me saying that you're dead and some altered proof to prove that it's true. Just one phone call and a packaged dead white wolf should convince her that you're gone. She'll be unhappy that I took her hunt away from her but you'll be dead in her eyes, her hunt will be over. Your freedom from all of them."_    
        I start to panic, unsettled by his voice in my head.  
         _"_ _You give me Derek, and I'll let you have your freedom."  
        _I couldn't take it any more and I leave my post. Coach Finstock yells after me but I ignore it and run away from the field. The anxiety I was feeling, the fear, it was almost too late to have recognized it as not my own. I catch his scent pretty quickly and start to run as fast as I could down the halls.   
        " _It was a good effort, Isaac. It was."_ I hear Gerard taunt. " _This would be so much more poetic if it were halftime."_  
I crash through the hallway doors, pushing myself to go faster than I already was. I could hear the metal screech against the concrete floor. I start to panic, this time it was my own, as my thoughts ran with the possibilities of what would happen to Isaac if I arrived too late.  
        I rush into the secluded locker room. The lights were off and two men were standing in my way. Gerard had his sword ready to slice Isaac in half.  
        "Like I said before," Gerard says bringing the sword up in the air. "An Omega rarely survives on his own."   
        "He's not alone." I growl allowing my eyes to flash red.  
        The two men in front of me quickly turn to me in alert. I let one more growl pass my lips as I ran at them and tackled them to the ground. Both of them put up a good fight but I was smarter and faster. I use their strengths against each other and I quickly disarm them of any weapon. I smash one of their heads on the ground while the other I had to kick him back down before one more blow to the head. I look up at a half-paralyzed Isaac, my red eyes ablaze searching for Gerard.   
        "Where is he?!" I shout. "Where did he go?!"        

 

*************

 

  
Third POV,  _Hale House_

        Derek found no other choice but to hear Peter out. The elder wolf took this opportunity. He knew it was one of those rare chances that he'll be able to gain an ounce of trust from Derek. Peter, in the darkness of death, was clever and watched the living. He knew what made people tick. He knew how people worked. Derek was more complicated than most but Peter still knew that this was the only chance he'll get to break through to him.   
        "There's a myth that you can cure a werewolf simply by calling out its Christian name." Peter tells Derek who just shakes his head at him.   
        "It's just a myth."   
        "Sometimes myths and legends bear a hint of truth." Peter explains to him. "Our name is a symbol of who we are. The kanima has no identity. That's why it doesn't seek a pack."   
        "It seeks a master." Derek states understanding what Peter was inferring.   
        "And who else grows up with no pack? No identity?" Peter asks him, helping Derek to come to his own conclusion about the cure.   
        "An orphan." Derek answers.   
        "Like Jackson." Peter points out. "And right now, his identity is disappearing beneath a reptilian skin and _you_ need to bring him back."   
        Peter made sure that this whole conversation was centered on Derek. The elder wolf knew that he would only be allowed to help if Derek thought that he was in control. That  _he_ was the one to come up with the solution though it was Peter's solution from the very beginning.   
        "How?" Derek exclaims.   
        "Through his heart." Peter answers smiling as Derek came to him for the overall answer. "How else?"   
        "You know, in case you hadn't noticed, Jackson doesn't really have too much of a heart to begin with." Derek states.   
        "Not true." Peter replies with a shake of his head. "He'd never admit it, but there is one person. One young lady with whom Jackson shared a real bond. One person who can reach him... who can save him."  
        Derek pauses as he realizes who Peter was implying.   
        "Lydia..." he whispers. Peter nods agreeing with Derek's conclusion.   
        "Your best ally has always been anger, Derek, but what you lack most is heart." Peter points out. "That's why you're here alone tonight. Your anger drew away the one person who could have helped you tonight, your beautiful she-wolf, Diana."  
        Derek rises from his seat, hating that Peter brought her name up.   
        "You've always known that you needed her by your side more than anyone." Peter continues. "She's the heart. She's the one who cared and loved your betas. She's the only one who's managed to salvage whatever heart you still had."  
        Derek lets a growl pass his lips but it doesn't stop Peter.  
        "If you had let her in, Derek, you would have found the solution to your problems sooner." Peter tells him. "Even somebody as burned and dead on the inside as me knows better than to underestimate the simple yet undeniable power of love." 

 

*************

 

        I rush through the cheering crowd right after I made sure Isaac was safe. They were loud and the noises filled my ears causing me to be unable to locate Gerard. I don't care the people I'm hurting right now, the one's I'm running through right now. All I care about is what could have happened in Gerard's disappearance and my absence.   
        I run onto the field, gasping, out of breath. Every player was standing and well. They were cheering, tackling each other for fun, and I turn to the scoreboard just in time to see the last thirty seconds were running, my deadline gone so quickly.  
        Thirty seconds turned into twenty nine and I scoured the field, waiting to find the bloodbath ready to begin. I drop to my knees, feeling failure run through my veins. Everyone I cared about, everyone I swore to protect were going to be dead because of me. The time ticked down to the last seconds before the alarm goes off, announcing the end of the game.  
        "We did it. We won!" Coach shouts beside me.   
        I felt my heart pounding louder as I waited for the screams to come but instead I hear cheers. Everyone's cheering because we won and all I could do was try to gasp for air. I catch sight of Scott and Stiles on the field, intact. My eyes find Melissa and the Sheriff and they were ok. Lydia was jumping up and down in glee. Coach Finstock was alive beside me and Isaac should be safe in the locker room.    
        "Nothing happened. Nothing." I whisper to myself.   
        The lights shut off and the field is in complete darkness. The panic I sense is overwhelming, even more so as a scream pierces through the air. I felt people pushing past me, running. I quickly get to my feet and start to run onto the field.   
        "Scott! Stiles!" I shout. "Where are you?!"   
        It was hard to focus on their scent and screams and voices filled my ears, making it impossible to hear them out. I start to move again and catch Melissa as she runs past me. She gasps in fear but once she recognizes my red eyes glowing in the dark does she start to run beside me.   
        "Scott!" she shouts. "Scott!"   
        We look frantically around us and before we knew it, Scott grabs onto us.  
        "Are you guys ok?" Scott asks  
        "I lost Gerard," I tell him. "I can't find him anywhere."   
        "Mom?" he asks next.   
        "I'm fine, I'm fine. But somebody is hurt. Somebody is down on the field."   
        That's when I smell it, the distinct scent of blood, and I let go of Scott and Melissa before I start running again. The lights turn back on and I run through panicked crowds.   
        "Get out of the way." I shout. "Move! Back off! Move..."   
        I stop my shouts as I reach the surrounded figure on the crowd. I push myself to the front and try to make sense of who was in front of me.   
        "Jackson?" Lydia asks confused as well. "What's happened to Jackson?"   
        "Can we get a medic over here?" Coach shouts. "We're gonna need a medic!"  
        I drop to my knees and start to check over Jackson's limp body. Ignoring my common sense and everything that came with that, I started to look over him.   
        "He's not breathing. No pulse." I state.   
        "Nothing?" Coach asks confused.   
        "Nothing." I state. "I'm going to need to..."   
        I pull his shirt up ready to start CPR but the sight catches me by surprise.  
        "Oh, my God. There's blood. There's blood." Lydia exclaims startled.   
        "Look," Scott whispers beside me, motioning to his hand. I take notice of his bloody hand and make sure to tuck it away, for no one else to see.   
        "He did it to himself." Isaac whispers appearing with the crowd.   
        "Get down here." I state looking up at a worried Lydia as I begin the CPR. "Get down here and hold his head. Tilt it up."   
        Lydia does as she's told, crying and in shock. I continue doing this, using some of my werewolf strength to start something up, but his heart wouldn't start. He seemed to be gone but I refused to leave this like this. I refused to have let someone die, even if it was Jackson himself.   
        "Stiles." the Sheriff asks coming through the crowd. He looks down at Jackson but then towards the field. "Where's Stiles?"   
        I stop my CPR and Melissa quickly takes over for me, noticing my frozen state. I stand up and search the field frantically.   
        "Where... where's my son? Where's Stiles?" the Sheriff exclaims. "Where's Stiles? Where the hell is my son?"


	34. The Best and the Worst of Me

        Melissa was kind enough to use her nurse job and stay with Jackson's body as it made it's way to the hospital's morgue just to make sure that nothing supernatural occurred while normal oblivious people were around. As for Scott and Isaac they had to take off their gear and change out of their uniform. Sheriff Stilinski was interrogating the lacrosse team and Coach Finstock in hopes of getting some clues as to where Stiles could be. He was in the locker room now [asking me some questions](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=201533173) before Scott and Isaac finally joined me.   
        "I got to meet with the medical examiner and try to figure out what happened with Jackson." Sheriff states. "I've got an APB out on Stiles. His jeep is still in the parking lot, so that means..." he pauses, unsure of what to say. "...the hell, I don't know what that means. Um look, if he answers his phone, if he answers his emails, if either one of you see him..."  
        "We'll call you." Isaac tells him.  
        "Look, he's probably just freaked out from all the attention or something." Scott assures him. "We'll find him."  
        "I'm sure your deputies have the patrolling covered." I tell him. "You should go home, get some rest, be there in case he shows up."  
        "Yeah, you're right." Sheriff sighs out. "Call me with anything, okay?"   
        We all nod at him before he sighs once more and leaves the locker room. Everyone by then seems to have gone home, even Coach Finstock who seemed to lurk around longer wasn't even here, but with everything that's happened tonight it was understandable.   
        "Is that everyone?" I ask them and both of them look around.  
        "I think so." Isaac answers.  
        Once it was confirmed that everyone was truly gone did Scott pulled Stiles' locker door out of it's hinges and throws it so easily on the floor. I pull out some clothing items out of the locker  
        "You're gonna find him by scent?" Isaac asks me.  
        "Yeah, we all are." I answer as I hand out Stiles' clothes. I kept Stiles' hoodie while Scott got his shirt and Isaac got one of his shoes.  
        "But how come Scott gets his shirt and I get a shoe?" Isaac complains. I was going to respond with a snarky response but the words get caught in my mouth when I sense his presence for the first time in days. I look up to find Derek watching all of us with his usual scowl.  
        "We need to talk." Derek states.  
        "Of course, I've been calling you all week, but you didn't..." I stop talking as I catch sight of Peter stepping beside Derek.   
        "It's nice to see you again, Diana." Peter states smiling at me.  
        I glance at Derek, who didn't seem surprised by his appearance, before turning back to Peter.   
        "I believe we have a lot to discuss. So why don't we get started?" Peter asks me.   
        "Sure," I answer surprisingly calm. "Let's get started."   
        Without a second to lose, I lunge forward toward Peter and tackle him to the ground. I let a growl escape my throat as I raised my hand, which had extended my claws, and was ready to swipe down at Peter's face if it wasn't for the hand that caught me. I then found myself being dragged back and I fought in their arms as I tried to lunge for Peter again.   
        "Diana! Diana, come on!" Isaac shouts as he tries to hold me back.   
        "Let me go!" I shout back. "He deserves this! I swear he does!"   
        Derek helps Peter back up and I just huff angrily at the act, pulling myself out of Isaac's and Scott's hold.   
        "What the hell is this?!" I ask Derek. "You know what he did to me, did to us!"  
        "And what about what you did to me?" Derek argues back. "I saw you talking to Gerard at the Sheriff's station. You've been working with him the whole time!"  
        "We've talked about this before!" I shout at him. "He's been threatening me! He's threatened to kill the pack and anyone in relation to the pack. So people like Stiles, Stiles' dad, Scott's mom, etcetera and etcetera. Besides I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?"  
        Derek doesn't say anything, he was still angry, I could see it in his face and I could just simply sense it. I take a deep breath, unhappy of how this was turning out.   
        "Deaton warned you about Peter." I state with a shake of my head. "And what he did to you, bleeding you out... what he did to me, forcing me into my wolf form, taking advantage of her, taking away my fangs... I can't believe you trusted him before you trusted me. You promised me that he would pay..."   
        I could see his anger fade away as he looked down at me. It took everything within me to stop myself from just touching him. I felt like if I did, I would break the already fragile relationship we were trying to make with each other.  
        "In his defense, he did beat me up into a pulp." Peter states.   
        "Shut up." Derek and I shout at the same time, whatever had happened between us seemed to disappear and we both stepped away from each other.   
        "Who is he?" Isaac asks.  
        "That's Peter, Derek's Uncle. Little while back, he tried to kill us all, and then we set him on fire, and Derek slashed his throat." Scott explains to him.  
        "Hi." Peter says waving at the confused Isaac.  
        "That's good to know." Isaac mutters unsurely.  
        "How is he alive?" Scott asks us.  
        "It's a long story," I tell him. "It kind of slipped my mind with all that's been happening."   
        "Look, what matters now is that Peter knows how to stop Jackson." Derek tells us. "And maybe how to save him."  
        "Well, that's very helpful except Jackson's dead." Isaac states.  
        "What?" Derek asks alarmed.  
        "Yeah, Jackson's dead." Scott assures him. "It just happened on the field."  
        "He did it to himself," I tell them. "Used his own claws to tear up at his chest."   
        Derek and Peter glance at each other with concerned expressions.   
        "Okay, why is noone taking this as good news?" I ask them.  
        "Because if Jackson is dead, it didn't just happen." Peter responds. "Gerard wanted it to happen."  
        "But why?" Derek asks him.  
        "Well, that's exactly what we need to figure out." Peter states. "And something tells me the window of opportunity is closing. Quickly." 

**************

         _I could feel everyone staring at me but sadly I was used to it. With all the moving around, "the stare" was a common thing to whatever school I attended lately. I went through the same cycle of grabbing my schedule and locker combination before going on a search, through a school hall I had no idea where it led to. I heard the whispers and the occasional snickers but I didn't really give a damn.  
        I somehow manage to find my locker with no help of my brother since he decided to talk away to the cute guy I bumped into the first few minutes I entered this God forsaken place. Of course, there has been many cute boys in every school I went to and some of them actually seemed to like me, but every time my brother seemed to talk them away from me. I didn't really care anymore. It's not like we were going to stay here for very long. Every time I settled down my dad started to pack our things away to hit the next town.   
        It was a routine that I was so used to now in the past couple of months after my mother's death. Pack things up, enroll in school, a waiting period that could be from a week to 2 months in which gives me enough time to actually like the new place, and then we'll pack our things up again and I'll be forced to move.   
        I manage to open my locker in my first try and start to drop everything in. The hallways were already loud but they seemed to get even louder and I could theorize it was probably because the football team was walking through. I turn around and couldn't help but roll my eyes as I take notice that it was worse than that. Not only was it the "winning" basketball team, who were dribbling and passing balls left to right, but my brother was joining in with the cute guy!   
        "Ugh disgusting," I mutter.   
        "Oh, someone who shares my feelings."   
        I was startled by the sudden voice and whoever she was could tell since she snickered loudly. My locker door closes and I find a girl, who looked as annoyed as I was, and seemed to actually mean it.   
        "You hate basketball?" I ask her.   
        "No," she answers. "I hate my jock of a brother and him and basketball are joined at the hip. What about you?"   
        "Well basketball is ok but it's the jocks that I hate. They think they can run this school and one thing I hate more than jocks are the girls that follow them around."    
        "Me too!" she states happily. "Gosh, where have you been all my life!"   
        "Oh you know, here and there and everywhere." I answer gaining a chuckle from her. "My name's Diana Cortez."   
        "And I'm Cora Hale." she says shaking my hand. I stop as I hear her last name.   
        "Hale? As in related to green eyes Hale?" I ask her. Cora just sighs as she hears this.   
        "You've met my brother," she states unhappily.   
        "Yeah, I thought he was cute and then my brother did the female version of cock blocking and then I realized he's in the basketball team and he's your brother."   
        "So does that mean you're not interested in him?"   
        "Not anymore," I whisper to her. "Not after my brother decided to become buddy-buddy with him."   
        I nudge my head at the still striding basketball team and motion to my idiotic brother.   
        "Well he's cute."   
        "Please, don't." I start as Cora turns to me with a smirk. "I can't handle if someone I actually like as a friend goes after my brother."   
        "Then I won't." Cora states. "As long as you don't go after my brother."   
        "It's a deal," I say shaking her extended hand and laughing. "I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." _  


_**************_

  
Peter led all of us to the Hale house and during the time it took to get there, Peter kindly explained to all of us that Lydia was the key to save Jackson. When we enter the Hale house I could see that the usual disarray was more of a mess than usual. Books were thrown around and trunks were open everywhere. The staircase was already broken but it seemed even more so than before. I look up at Derek in question but he ignored my look of question and followed after Peter.   
        "Oh, they found Stiles." Scott states after getting off the phone with the Sheriff.   
        "That's a relief to here." I answer.   
        "I told you, I looked everywhere." Derek states to a searching Peter but Peter just goes up the stairs and pulls out a false bottom.   
        "You didn't look here." he answers as he pulls out a dusty old briefcase.   
        "What is that, a book?" Derek asks him confused.  
        "No, it's a laptop." he answers with a scowl. "What century are you living in?"  
        "Can we not do that right now?" I exclaim annoyed with Peter's sarcasm. He quickly nods at that and opens the briefcase revealing the mac laptop.   
        "A few days after I got out of the coma, I transferred everything that we had." Peter explains. "Fortunately, the Argents aren't the only ones that keep records."  
        Peter takes the laptop and leads us into the next room so he could set up and look through the saved files. At the same time, Scott's phone begins to ring.   
        "Hey, mom, I can't talk right now." Scott tells her.   
        " _Oh, yeah? Well, I'm so freaked out that I can barely talk either."_  
I become concerned when I hear this.   
        "What's wrong?" Scott asks her.  
        " _Something... Definitely something."_ Melissa replies. _"I don't know what, but I think you're gonna want to see this for yourself."_  
Scott quickly hangs up and looks up at me.   
        "I have to go check it out," Scott tells me. "It has to be important if my mom took the risk to sneak in and check the body."   
        "Go," I tell him. "And take Isaac with you in case what your mom said is worse."   
        "Are you sure?" Scott asks me. "You can use Isaac here, since you know... Peter."   
        "I can hear you, you know?" Peter exclaims from the other room.   
        We both ignore Peter's presence over all as we continue our conversation.  
        "Peter's practically my bitch now and I doubt he'll try anything."   
        "What about Derek?"   
        "What about Derek?" I ask in return.   
        "Are you two ok?" he asks me concerned. I glance towards Derek, who was glancing up at me before looking away. I sigh and shrug in response.   
        "I don't know, Scott, but I'll be fine." I assure him. "Now take Isaac with you and go check in on your mom. Call me with details when you get there."  
        "Yes ma'am." Scott says before grabbing Isaac and heading out of there.   
        I look up and find the two Hale's just looking at me. I ignore it as I make my way towards them and stand behind Peter who had the laptop open waiting for the file to load.   
        "So..." Peter whispers as he looks up at me. "I'm your bitch, now?"   
        "Don't flatter yourself," I say as I glare at him. "Being my bitch would be a cakewalk. You're more like my slave."   
        "Oh that actually sounds like fun." Peter responds with a smirk. "Whips and chains excite me."   
        "Shut up," Derek growls.  
        "And there's your jealous boyfriend interrupting all the fun." Peter jokes causing Derek to clench his jaw tightly.   
        "He's not my..." I start to say as I transfix my stare at the laptop screen. "We're not..."  
        "You two have mated with each other, for life may I add, and you can't settle on some simple dating labels." Peter exclaims. "What kind of angsty teenagers are you?"   
        "Just open up the damn file, Peter." Derek growls.   
        Peter just lets out a dry laugh as he opens the loaded file and starts to scroll through it. Luckily, the bestiary was in English unlike Allison's which was in Latin. Unluckily though, the Hale bestiary was all out of order and we were having trouble trying to find the kanima lore. After a few minutes, my phone starts to ring and I answer it.  
        "What do you have me for Scott?" I ask. Scott held the same frightened tone Melissa had in the last phone call which made the situation even worse in my opinion.  
        "Scott says Jackson's in some kind of transparent casing made from the venom coming out of his claws." I tell them as Peter continues to search the bestiary.   
        "That sounds sufficiently terrifying." Peter comments.  
        "He's also saying he's starting to move." I say even more alarmed now.  
        "Okay, look, I think I found something." Peter exclaims motioning to the screen. "Looks like what we've seen from Jackson is just the kanima's beta shape."   
        "Well, meaning what?" Derek asks. "It can turn into something bigger?"  
        "Bigger and better." Peter answers.  
        "He's turning into that?" I exclaim as I look at the drawn out picture of a terrifying beast. "That has wings!"   
        "I can see that." Peter replies. Derek grabs the phone out of my hand and starts to voice out orders.   
        "Scott, bring him to us." Derek exclaims.   
         _"_ _I'm not sure if we have time for that."_ Scott replies.    
        "Look, somebody actually made an animation of it." Peter points out. "Maybe it's less frightening if we..." a screeching emits from a very horrifying graphic video and Peter automatically closes the laptop. "Nope, not at all."  
        "We should probably meet them halfway." I tell Derek.  
        "Scott, get him out of there now," Derek orders urgently "Go now."   
        Derek starts to walk out of the room but Peter and I quickly follow after him.   
        "Derek, we need Lydia." Peter states.    
        "There's no time for..." Derek grits out before being interrupted by Peter.   
        "That's the problem." Peter exclaims. "We're rushing. We're moving too fast. And while everybody knows that a moving target is harder to hit, here we are, racing right into Gerard's crosshairs."  
        "He's got a point," I answer. "Never thought I'll agree with Peter, but he's right."   
        Derek looks between us but his determination was set.   
        "If I get the chance to kill Jackson, I'm taking it." Derek states before leaving the house. I start to run after him and I could sense Peter was trying to catch up but failing. I manage to outrun Derek and block him from running any further.   
        "What do you want, Diana?" Derek asks me annoyed. "Your wasting already precious time."   
        "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not." I state. "I don't care if you're Mr. Big Bad Wolf right now but I'm staying by your side, whether that's to save Jackson or kill him. I will always be by your side, Derek."  
        Derek doesn't say anything and I was unsure if this was a good silence or not.   
        "We're wasting time," Derek finally speaks up. "We should keep going."   
        I find myself just nodding at that before letting him run past me. I take a deep breath, knowing that I should just confess to him everything I was feeling for him, but I knew it wasn't the right time. Those three words would change everything and we were already on opposing sides. I push those thoughts away before catching up to Derek again and matching his pace.

*************

         _"It's been weeks, you don't go to my basketball games, you still refuse to talk to me when I manage to sneak around your brother and **my**  sister, and whenever you're at my house you stick around Cora or my mom the whole time." Derek rambles as he manages to find me once again in my free period. "What does a guy have to do to be able to win your heart, Didi?"   
        "Well first, you can stop calling me by that awful nickname." I state packing up my stuff, ready to leave. "Second, you can just overall stop trying to win "my heart", Hale. I'm not into you, so just let it go."   
        "That's where you're wrong." Derek says as he starts to follow me again, spinning the basketball in his hands. "I know you like me. I knew it since the first time we bumped into each other."   
        I laughed at that as I turn to face him. We were standing across from each other in the middle of the unused soccer field. The grass was long, not being taken care of, and morning dew still clung to the long strands. I couldn't help but meet his green eyes in defiance to all that he was saying.   
        "Wow, you have really green eyes." I find myself saying.   
        "They get you every time," Derek says grinning. I couldn't help but laugh at that and turn away from him. I start to walk out of the field, but Derek being his persistent self, continued to follow after me.   
        "So are you going to follow me around my whole free period?"  
        "Until you admit you love me."    
        "Hm, you'll be waiting for eternity before those words leave my mouth, Hale." I answer. "The best I can say is that we're really good friends. So if that's all for today, I really need to ace this chem test that's next period."   
        "Fine, go ace your chemistry test," Derek says with a chuckle. "But we both know the truth."   
        "And what is that?" I ask him.   
        "That you are infatuated with me and my green eyes," Derek states. "And that you're most likely going to fail this chem test."   
        "You're right." I tell him.  
        "Really?" Derek asks me surprised, dropping the basketball.   
        "Yeah, I'm definitely going to fail this chem test." I state before turning away and walking out on him. I couldn't help but laugh at him. "Better luck drawing out my "so-called" love confession next time." _  


_*************_

  
Derek and I ran through the woods, taking the shortcuts to the abandoned warehouse Scott promised to meet us at. We could have probably taken a car and reached here faster but Derek was adamant in getting there by running. In a few minutes we reached the fenced area of the abandoned warehouse district. I started to slow down, taking the time to catch my breath before making the leap over the fence.   
        "We don't have time for a break, Diana." Derek says as he notices that I stopped.   
        "I don't need a break, Hale. I could run laps around you..." I stop myself from going on as I realized what was going to happen beyond that fence. This was my last chance to come clean. "Derek, we need to talk."  
        "Can we do this after we're done with Jackson?"   
        "No, this needs to happen now before I lose my chance..." I start to say. "This is just in case I..."   
        "In case what?"  
        I make my way directly in front of him. His eyes looked deeply into mine trying to read the answer in my eyes but I knew how to keep a secret and he could be searching all night for the answer. I felt afraid for this confession I was going to make and the consequences it would have, but I couldn't just run into a potentially life-threatening situation without telling him one simple truth.   
        "I love you, Derek Hale." I state taking a deep breath once I let that confession go. He looks surprised by this but it's hidden in his usual passive scowl so I continue. "I love your green eyes and that scowl that you always wear. I love how you made me feel again after all these years that I felt like a hollow shell of a human being. I love that you act like you hate Scott and Stiles when in reality you care about those two knuckleheads. These are just a few reasons as to why I love you and I know it's the worst timing ever but I just had to say it. I love you."   
        There was a pregnant pause as he stared at me. His green eyes searched my face intensely, as if he was trying to detect if I was joking or not. His scowl then softens, his chest heaving up and down, as he looked down at me.   
        "You're not lying." Derek states. "Your heartbeat was steady."   
        "Of course it was," I whisper to him.   
        "Diana, I..." Derek begins to say but I interrupt him as I lean up and press my mouth against his. I part my lips for him and allow his tongue to caress mine. I lost myself in the sweet taste of him, the smell of genuine forest musk, and the feeling of his 5 o'clock shadow against my hand. I pull away, not wanting to, but needing to.   
        "Don't tell me what you were going to say," I whisper to him as I press my fingers on his lips. "Just let me keep this moment like this."   
        Derek just nods unsurely but doesn't say those three cursed words that would be the end of me.   
        "We should probably get back to the boys," I tell him as I step away from him. "We've already lost enough time."   
        I step a large amount away from Derek and the fence before taking a large running start. I then take a high leap, twist, and manage to flip myself over the fence. I make a crouched landing but it was better than landing on my face. Derek does his own fancy flip over the fence as well and lands beside me.  
        Ignoring what happened minutes before, Derek and I start to run through the warehouses, trying to find Scott and Isaac. Once we did, Derek took the lead and made quite the big entrance while I kept it normal. I felt Derek's eye turn red as we found Chris standing in front of us.   
        "I'm here for Jackson." Chris clarifies to both of us. "Not you, Derek."   
        "Somehow, I don't find that very comforting." Derek answers.  
        "Get Jackson inside." I tell Scott and Isaac. They both quickly pull out the body bag from Chris' car and start to make their way inside. Derek, Chris, and I follow them in and supervise them as they set the body bag down.  
        "Where are they?" Scott asks me."Peter and Lydia?"   
        Derek ignores them while I was left to tell them the dreaded news.   
        "They're not coming," I tell him.   
        "Whoa, hold on a second." Scott exclaims as Derek unzips Jackson's body bag. "You said you knew how to save him."  
        "We're past that." Derek states.  
        "What about..." Scott begins to argue before Derek interrupts him.   
        "Think about it, Scott." Derek exclaims. "Gerard controls him now. He's turned Jackson into his own personal guard dog. And he set all of this in motion so that Jackson could get even bigger and more powerful."  
        "No." Chris interjects. "No, he wouldn't do that. If Jackson's a dog, he's turning rabid, and my father wouldn't let a rabid dog live."  
        "Of course not."   
        We all look up to find that the voice interrupting our argument was coming from Gerard, causing everyone to feel the same genuine alarm.   
        "Anything that dangerous, that out of control..." Gerard continues. "Is better off dead."   
        Derek extends his claws, ready to strike before Jackson snaps awake and digs his own claws into Derek's chest. I let out a startled scream as Jackson rises to his own feet and throws Derek across the warehouse with only one hand. I could feel the taste of blood in my own mouth before it quickly faded. I look up at grinning Gerard, only feeling this big need to rip the smile off of him.

        "Well done to the last, Scott and Diana." Gerard starts off. "Like the concerned friend you are, you brought Jackson to Derek to save him and of course Diana led him here. You just didn't realize that by doing so, you were also bringing Derek to me."  
        I quickly hear the twinge of an arrow being let go and I duck, bringing Scott down with me. By doing so, Isaac gets hit by the arrow.   
        "No, no, no..." I begin to mutter as I quickly catch the falling Isaac, crashing onto the floor with him. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."   
        "Allison?" Scott asks confused before turning back to us. He helps Isaac up and between us both, we carry him out of harm's way. I hear gunshots happen behind us but I ignore it as I rip off the arrow out of Isaac's chest. Once that's done, I let out a growl pass my lips before looking up at Scott and Isaac with my red eyes. Hearing this, they both wolf out, yellow eyes looking up at me.   
        Derek, now healed, appears beside me, his red eyes matching my own. We both growl before running up to the kanima. I pull out the spare blades from my boots before flipping them in my hands and attacking. Derek engages in hand to hand combat but the kanima quickly slashes through his stomach and I step in before things could get worse.  
        I slash at his scaly arms and try to get a dagger through his chest but the kanima was too quick and calculated his moves against me. Suddenly, the kanima's tail wraps around my ankle and he pulls on it, causing me to crash onto the floor. Before the kanima could attack me, Scott and Isaac jump in, but are easily defeated. I roll myself out of the way and found Derek climbing the pipes to attack from above.  
        As Derek jumps down to the kanima, I push forward digging both daggers in my hand into the kanima's chest. The kanima screeches loudly before swiping twice at me. I groan as I fall to the ground, clutching my bleeding sides. I could feel my wolf wanting to be let out but she couldn't yet, not here and not now.  
        Derek continues to fight against the kanima, getting a few hits in before being thrown out of the way again. Scott uses the distraction to kick the kanima, sending it into the wall, but the kanima kicks Scott back in retaliation and sends Scott into the opposing wall. Derek tries to fight the kanima again only to get clawed deeply into his stomach. I look around, Scott was still hurt and Derek was bleeding, my eyes catch Isaac's and he nods at me, understanding my request before I even asked it.   
        He shakily stands up ready to engage the kanima. I see the shadow too late and my warning was no use as Allison blocked him from coming to us. She uses his weaken state to her advantage and uses the blades to swipe at his chest and stomach. Allison then ducks under Isaac's poor attempt to defend himself and daggers his back. She then looks up and stares down at Derek.   
        "Allison!" I growl as I force myself to stand up. Hearing her name, she looks up at me. She grins at me as she spins her daggers in her hands. I let out a growl as I extend my claws and let my Alpha eyes show. "You dare get close to him. I will  _kill_ you."   
        "You're injured and you're weak." Allison states. "Step down."   
        "Oh, honey. Even at my worst, I can take you down."   
        Allison runs towards me, blades directed at me. I couldn't help but run towards her as well and we crashed as we reached each other. I blocked every stab she tried to pull and flipped her over me, causing her back to hit the floor. The hit should have knocked the air out her but Allison still rolled up to her feet, ready to engage me again. She only had one dagger now, the other had been lost as I threw her on the floor.  
        The young Argent hunter was ready to run up to me before her outreached hand is caught by the kanima. The kanima grips her wrist tightly, forcing Allison to let go of the dagger. The blade crashes against the floor, filling the shocking silence, as the kanima then grips Allison's neck, denying her the chance to breathe.   
        "You should know better, sweetheart." Gerard states. "Know when you're beaten... or well, about to be."  
        "What are you doing?" Allison gasps out.   
        "He's doing what he came here to do." I say as I spit the blood out of my mouth and look up at Gerard, a sick feeling settling in my stomach.   
        "Then you know." Gerard states surprised.   
        "What's he talking about?" Allison asks afraid.  
        "It was that day in your office, wasn't it, when you served me water to take my pills with. I knew I saw something in your eyes. You could just smell it, couldn't you?"  
        "He's dying." Isaac states in realization.    
        "I am. I have been for a while now." Gerard tell us. "Unfortunately, science doesn't have a cure for cancer yet...but the supernatural does."           
        I could see him glance down at me and Derek and the feeling in my stomach becomes worse.   
        "You monster." Chris grits out disgusted.   
        "Not yet." Gerard replies with a grin.  
        "What are you doing?!" Allison exclaims causing the kanima to tighten his grip.   
        "You'll kill her too?" Chris shouts at him, upset.   
        "When it comes to survival," Gerard starts of. " _I'd kill my own son!"  
        _I try to hold back the disgusted feeling as Gerard looks at me.   
        "Diana," he calls out to me.   
        "Diana, don't." Derek pleads.   
        "I'm so sorry," I whisper to him. "But this is the only way."   
        I shakily look up at Gerard, letting my red eyes glow. I walk towards him, fangs extending, and Gerard gladly pulls up his wrist towards me.   
        "You know that he's gonna kill me right after." Derek calls out to me. "He'll be an Alpha."  
        "That's true." Gerard assures. "But I think she already knows that, don't you, Diana? She knows that the ultimate prize is her protection." Gerard looks up at me with a smile. "Do this small task for me, and you can be free. Free of the hunters, free with this town, free of the mate bond. You are the only piece that doesn't fit, Derek."  
        "That's not true," I state causing Gerard to look up at me surprised. "I want you to kill me instead. I'm the piece that doesn't fit."   
        Derek opens his mouth to argue with me about this but it was too late, Gerard nods and I let my fangs sink into Gerard's wrist. I pull my mouth away and looked up at him. I didn't feel the power I was supposed to feel when making a beta and Gerard noticed this too.   
        "You little beast..." Gerard shouts as he slaps me. I fall to the ground due to the strong blow but sit up and glare at him.   
        "Yeah, someone told me I could be defected." I mutter. "Sorry to ruin your plans."  
        "And it seems that our deal is off, until you fix this." Gerard states.   
        "What?" I ask alarmed, sitting up.   
         "This Diana Ross you've all gotten to know, love, and care for is a fraud." Gerard exclaims. "Her name when she first moved into this town was Diana Cortez, otherwise known as, Didi for some."   
        "Didi..." Derek whispers looking up at me in remembrance. I look away from him and start to panic as Gerard continued.   
        "Diana, here, had a brother named Marcos and a father named Carlos." Gerard explains. "A lovely family who suffered a great loss, a strong woman and great leader, Carmen. Now Carmen came from a very important line of..."   
        "I'll do it!" I shout. "I'll fix this...just stop."    
        "Then fix it!" Gerard exclaims.    
        "Diana, don't!" Derek shouts. "Don't!"   
        I ignore Derek's pleas and the conflicted emotions I was having by doing this. I make my way towards Derek and grab him by the neck. I then drag him across the room and force Derek to kneel in front of Gerard.   
        "I'm sorry... but I have to." I tell him before pulling Derek's head back, forcing his mouth to open in pain. Gerard smiles at me before pushing his wrist into Derek's mouth and forcing Derek to bite. Gerard lets out a scream as he felt the change take effect. Derek is then dropped to the floor as Gerard inspects his arm.   
        I drop down towards Derek, feeling the tears in my eyes at his injured state. I whisper a thousand apologies to him but he was in too much pain to hear them. I glare at Gerard who was holding his arm up high in victory, which I knew wouldn't last long. Blood was running down his arm, but it was black and it didn't seem to want to stop.   
        "What?" Gerard asks as he finally takes notice of it. "What is this?" He looks up at me in alarm, and I couldn't help but smile at him. "What did you do?!"  
        Derek looks up at me in surprise and I just nodded at him.   
        "Everyone said Gerard always had a plan." I answer. "I had a plan too."  
        "No," Gerard exclaims. "No."  
        "You really shouldn't have taunted me so much in my own office, Gerard." I tell him. "What did you tell me once? Oh right,  _know thy enemy,_ and I could read you like the back of my hand. Or in this case, your medication and with the help from Scott and Deaton... well the rest is history."   
        He shakily pulls out his pill case and dumps all of his pills into his hand. Some drop to the floor due to his shaking hand but he doesn't care as his alarm turns to rage.   
        "Mountain ash!" Gerard shouts crushing all of the pills into powder. The black blood starts to pour out of his eyes and nose, and Gerard begins to cough it up as well.  
        "Why didn't you tell me?" Derek asks me.  
        "Because you might be an Alpha, but I'm one too."  
        "I will destroy you!" Gerard shouts between his cough attacks. "I will destroy everything you love!"   
        I look up at Scott in concern before turning to Gerard, who had just spit up a large amount of the black goo.   
        "Diana's legacy from her mother's side is from two great lines of  _hunters._ " Gerard states. "Two Mexican dynasties intertwined in one. Her grandmother was from the  _Calaveras_ and her grandfather is from the  _Cruzes."  
        _"No..." Derek mutters beside me.   
        "Yes, the  _Cruzes._ " Gerard coughs out. "A Catholic-based clan of three hunters who in the beginning hunted the beasts that were described to be Satan's guard dogs. Now they just hunt whatever howls at the full moon. The Cruzes have been retired for the longest of times before they surged up again 6 years ago. Around the time of the Hale fire."   
        "That can't be..." Derek whispers crawling away from me.   
        "We weren't the only hunters in town. Diana and her family were in Beacon Hills the night that your house burned down, Derek." Gerard tells him. "She was even there when your family was being burnt alive and she did nothing to save them."   
        "That's not true!" I exclaim but Gerard was twisting my story against me.   
        "She and her brother and father hid in the shadows and watched your house burn down with everyone inside." Gerard continues. "My daughter may have caused the fire, but Diana watched it burn."   
        "I couldn't do anything," I whisper to Derek who was looking at me in disgust and horror. "I was so  _weak."  
        _"You're stillweak." Gerard coughs out, his strength fading. "After a year of training, you were initiated as a hunter and you hunted for three years straight. Word about you spread to our community, _Diana the Goddess of the Hunt_. Then word spread that you got bit by an Alpha, killed the Alpha, and turned into a she-wolf. You didn't even have the courage to off yourself like hunters have done before you when they become cursed, so you ran. You are still weak, Diana."  
        Gerard's coughing turns into puking all of that black blood in his system. In his last shallow breaths he looks up at all of us, smiling tauntingly at me, before his gaze landed on the kanima.  
        "Kill them!" he exclaims. "Kill them all!"   
        We all look at the kanima who was pulling away from Allison, unsure of his instructions due to Gerard's passed out state. In this distraction, Allison was able to stick her remaining blade into the kanima, causing it to screech and step away from her. Timed perfectly, Stiles' jeep comes crashing through the warehouse hitting the kanima straight on.   
        "Did I get him?" Stiles exclaims closed-eyed behind the wheel. Before we could respond, the kanima pops up again against the hood scaring all of us at his quick recovery. "Whoa!"          
        Lydia and Stiles step out of the Jeep quickly. Stiles runs to our side but Lydia doesn't move as the kanima walks over to her.   
        "Lydia!" Stiles exclaims but Scott pulls him back.   
        "Wait," he tells him.   
        "Jackson." Lydia whispers.  
        The kanima tilts his head, as if the name sounded familiar to him. The kanima's killer instincts doesn't seem to stop at the name calling and raises his hand to strike Lydia but stops when she raises something up to him, a key. The kanima stops and takes the key out of Lydia's hand. The scaly skin starts to fade and Jackson's face appears through.  
        Jackson steps away from Lydia, his whole body turning to normal, as his face goes through the realization of what he's done in his kanima form. Jackson opens his arms beside him and nods. Without a moment to waste, Derek and an appearing Peter run in to stab their claws into Jackson, killing him once and for all. Lydia lets out a startle cry as the key that was once in Jackson's hand drops to the floor, clinking through the silence. Before Jackson could fall to the ground, Lydia catches him.  
        "Do you... do you still..." Jackson stutters out in his dying breaths.  
        "I do. I do still love you." Lydia nods tearfully. " I do, I do still love you. I do, I do, I do still love you, I do."   
        Jackson's eyes closes, taking one last shuttering breath. Lydia reluctantly lets his body down. Stiles steps forward to comfort her as she starts to walk towards us but she stops, we all stop. We all hear the claws scratching the concrete floor and turn to Jackson to see his body moving. We all feared that the kanima was not put down but when Jackson rises from the ground, he rises as himself, a werewolf with blue eyes. Jackson quickly returns to normal and looks up at Lydia who more than gladly runs over to embrace him.   
        Just seeing Lydia and Jackson embrace, still in love as they were before, did I finally gain the courage to turn to look at Derek. He was staring straight ahead, watching Jackson's new form, before turning his focus on Isaac, ignoring me overall. Derek starts to walk away and nudges Isaac trying to make him follow. Isaac glances at me unsurely and he stays put. Derek, seeing this, scowls and begins to make his way out.    
        "Derek," I call out to him as I start to follow after him. He brushes me off and quickens his pace. "Derek!"  
        Scott stops me from going further.   
        "He needs time for the news to settle."   
        "He needs me to explain to him what really happened." I argue back. "Gerard gave his side of things, not mine." 

        *************

       _My father and Marcos were missing dinner, again. It was friday night and here I was alone at home with nothing to do. I knew I wasn't supposed to go out at night but I also knew that normal teenage girls shouldn't be left home alone. I decided to not make myself dinner and invite myself over to the Hale house. At least there, I could feel the familiar feeling of being a part of a family and have nice cooked meal that wasn't microwaved.  
        I quickly got ready and took my cellphone and keys with me. I left a note on the fridge just in case my dad and Marcos decided to come home but I doubted they'll arrive before I do. I walk out of my house, making sure to set up the security system, before walking through my backyard and jumping over the small fence. Once I did that, I turn on the flashlight and start to make my way through the woods, already having the way to Cora's house memorized.   
        It was eerily silent walking through the dark forest. I knew I should be acting like a paranoid person, checking every noise that was made, but it was silent. Everything was quiet except for the crunching dry leaves under my converse. I sigh as jump over a tree root and stop as I heard a faint crackling. As I got closer, I felt an uneasiness settle in my stomach. I was ready to turn around before I caught sight of the distant Hale house lit on fire.  
        All of a sudden, I could hear the screams and the cries coming from inside. I could feel the smell of burning flesh and blood so thick in the air. I was paralyzed as I saw what was happening in front of me. I didn't know what to do and I felt myself gasping for air as I felt the familiar sensation of a panic attack. I force myself to take a few steps forwards before willing myself to take a deep breath.   
        I find myself running towards the house. I trip and slip as I make my way towards the Hale house. Everyone was screaming, everyone was crying, everyone was in pain. I could forever hear the echo for the cries of help. I was running to get closer before a hand catches my waist and I'm being tackled down. I fight against the arms before I find the familiar brown eyes of my brother.   
        "I need to help them," I cry out as I fight my way out of his arms. "Cora and Derek are in there! Thalia and Laura! Oh god, they're dying!"   
        "Shut up, Diana." Marcus exclaims as he grabs me again and puts a hand over my mouth. "Shut up."   
        I couldn't stop myself from crying as Marcus dragged me behind some trees where I found my father hiding out to.   
        "What's going on?!" I ask them. "Why aren't you doing something?!"   
        "It's too late, Diana." my father tells me. "It's just too late." _  


*************

        Once in the woods, I catch his scent and I start sprinting. I feel my clothes rip away from me and heard the familiar thumping of my four paws hitting the forest floor. My wolf seemed to share my distress in the matter, ignoring her usual enjoyment in the run and just focusing in finding Derek. We both expected his scent to lead towards the Hale house but we're surprised as we come into view with my cabin.  
        We make our way to the backyard and I change back. I grab the robe from the hook and place it over myself before sliding the door of my bedroom open and stepping in. The whole room was darker than usual but I could still see the furniture being out of place, thrown around with disregard, and my bed and bed frame slashed and uneven. I slowly make my way into the hallway, careful to switch the light on. Like my bedroom, the hallway was torn apart, as were the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. There was no sign of Derek, or so I thought.  
        I was caught off guard as Derek throws me against the wall of the hallway. I cry out as I feel myself fall to the floor but wasn't allowed that pleasure as Derek grabs me harshly by the throat and slams me into the wall again. I gasp at the two pains, one from the potential cracked skull, the other being the tightened hold on my neck.   
        "Derek..." I gasp out.   
        "Don't talk." Derek states, his rage unsettled and unsure. "Don't talk."   
        We remain in this position, me losing my breath while Derek just glared at me, nostrils flared, a growl erupting in his throat.   
        "You lied to me... from the first day we met. You lied." Derek exclaims. "I didn't want to trust you. I didn't want you in my life but you just found your way through it all. You and your lies and your flirtations..." Derek says disgusted. "Was it all a joke to you? Huh? Playing strong, but playing the innocent flower? Getting me into bed with you? All of the vulnerability crap?! All of the mistrust game?! The  _I love you_  from before! Was it all a lie?!"   
        "No... no, of course not. I was trying to protect everyone." I gasp out. "I was trying to protect you!"   
        "Is that the lie you made up to help you sleep better at night?" Derek growls. I whimper at his harsh tone and the hold of my neck tightening. "Your deal with Gerard was not to protect Scott or the pack or  _me._ Your deal with Gerard was to protect  _you_  and only  _you."  
        _I let the tears fall from my eyes knowing that it wasn't from the physical pain but the emotional.   
        "I knew you would hate me," I whimper. "I fell in love with you and I knew I would lose you if you knew who I was before this."   
        "STOP SAYING THAT YOU LOVE ME!" Derek shouts slamming me against the wall. "STOP LYING!"  
        "I know I've made mistakes," I cry out. "I know I'm a horrible person. I should have done something when I saw the fire. I should have called for help. I was a coward then and I'm a coward now. I know I should have told you who I was but the fear of losing you was too painful and I just hid my past from you. I have always been a coward, Derek, so much so that fear is my anchor."  
        Derek's rage seems to falter as I say this but the anger was still evident. His hand was still clutching my neck but not as tightly as before.   
        "It's ok if you want to kill me," I whisper to him. "I understand your reasons as to why you would want me dead. My lies, the Hale fire, the mate bond for life..." I nod towards him as his hands tighten on my neck. "I understand my death would solve you of many problems."   
        Before Derek could make a decision whether to end my life or not, Isaac comes crashing in and pushes Derek across the hall. I crumble to the floor, one hand clutching the robe tightly against me while the other tentatively touched my neck. I look up at Isaac to see him wolfed out and angry.   
        "You dare lay a hand on her again, I will  _kill_ you!" Isaac growls. Before Isaac could launch himself to a stunned Derek, I place my hand on his leg to stop him.   
        "Stop," I whisper to him. "He had reason to attack... I provoked him."   
        "But he was going to kill you!" Isaac exclaims, looking down at me in confusion and returning to his normal human state.   
        "I deserve it," I say as I stand up. "I deserved death for years now..."  
        I turn to look down the hall only to find that Derek was long gone. Isaac notices this as well and helps clear up the sofa before helping me sit down on it.   
        "We should get you to Deaton and while he takes care of you, I'll start cleaning the house..."   
        I hold my hand up at Isaac in order to stop him.   
        "You're not going to do any of that, Isaac." I tell him. Isaac looks at me confused again, his mouth ready to question me but I interrupt him before he could get a word out. "You're not my beta, Isaac. You're _his."  
        _"Screw Derek," Isaac argues. "I'm your beta now. It's my job to take care of you."   
        "No, it's not." I tell him. "It's my job to take care of the pack which is what I'm doing right now."   
        "But..."   
        "I need you to take care of him, Isaac." I say as I felt tears rising to my eyes. "I need you to make sure that I didn't break him beyond repair. I need you to stay by his side,  _loyal_ and  _patient._ I just need him to have someone by his side that isn't just Peter."   
        "Derek almost killed you," Isaac states confused. "Why would you..."   
        "I saw his family die and I did nothing to stop it." I state with a shake of my head as tears fell from my eyes. "There's more to the story but just know that I owe Derek the world, the moon, the stars, and more. I need you to take care of him, Isaac. He's going to need you more."   
        "But..." Isaac says still adamant in staying by my side.   
        "I love you too, Isaac." I say as I pull him into a hug, pressing a kiss on the top of his head. "But I can take care of myself. God knows how long I've been on my own."  
        "I'll take care of him," Isaac sighs out as he hugs me. After a while he pulls away and gives me his usual crooked smile, though it was tainted with bitter sadness, before standing up and leaving. The smile I held up for him disappears once he leaves. I pull my feet up onto the couch and close my eyes, feeling the adrenaline leave my body and the ache settle.

*************

  
_We had left town, quick goodbyes said, and new destinations planned. There was no explanations as to why we were running away as if we were to blame for the fire. They assured me they didn't have a hand in it but they showed no proof to prove their innocence. All of our things were packed, and once again we left another town but this time I had an overall idea as to why.  
        I felt numb to the realization that my father and brother were ok with the mass murder that happened just a few hours ago... as if they were used to it. I felt a sick twisting knot in my stomach that they had left the Hale family die and forced me to fall in their practices as well. I felt bile rising to my throat at the disgustingly low level my family had fallen down to.   
        "Stop the car," I state breaking the silence of the truck. My father ignores my order so I say it louder. "Stop the car!"   
        My father does so, and I quickly climb out of the car. I start to run away from them but I didn't go to far as I dropped to my knees and puked. I threw up everything inside me and started to dry heave. My father stops beside me and pats my back reassuringly but I grab onto his wrist and pull it behind his back before pushing him away from me. _  
         _"Don't touch me!" I shout as I step away from him. Marcos steps out of the truck and runs up to us but I glare at him as well. "Don't touch me."  
        I spit out the foul taste in my mouth and use the back of my hand to wipe my mouth.   
        "I don't know what the hell is going on." I exclaim. "All I know is that you two are murderers! You two let a family of innocent people die! My friends!"   
        My father takes a step towards me but I quickly take a few steps back and glared at him threateningly.   
        "If you dare come even closer, I will run back into town and go to the police." I threaten. "And you know that I'll do it without either of you being able to catch up to me."   
        My father and Marcos look at each other before turning to me and nodding.  
        "I want an explanation." I state. "I want an explanation right here, right now."   
        My father sighs but nods at that. I don't know how long we stood out there in the cold winter night as my father and Marcos explain to me our family's history and the supernatural that lived with us. They told me of my mother's hidden past, the real reason she died due to an Alpha hunt going wrong, and my father's and Marcos' decision to come out of retirement.   
        They told me that it was our duty to wrong my mother's death. That it was in my blood as well to become a Cruz hunter and take up the responsibility, even more so as I was the last living female of this line. They told me that my grandmother has been wanting to start my training ever since my mother's funeral but my father believed that I wasn't ready.   
        They explained that this was the reason we moved around. This was why my father had a storage of countless weapons and why Marcos had shut me out of his life. They told me that Beacon Hills held one of the biggest pack known in the world. A family of werewolves that stood strongly for centuries now. My father and Marcos came here to check them out, see if they were trouble. It seemed that tonight's surveillance started of wrong as they came to find the Hale house on fire. They did nothing, though, believed it was good riddance.  
        "What do I need to be ready?" I ask my father interrupting further explanations.   
        "Diana..."   
        " **What do I need to be ready?** " I repeat the question more strongly.   
        "Hunt or be Hunted." Marcos replies. "Are you willing to become the hunter and not the prey?"   
        "I'm willing to decide what and when to become those things." I answer. "I'm willing to hunt those who need to be hunted. I'm willing to play the prey when things shall fall."   
        "That's not how it works," Marcos argues. "We hunt those who hunt us."   
        "No!" I shout. "We don't hunt down innocent families like the Hale's! We will hunt the one's who deserve to be hunted; the killers, the murderers, the monsters."   
        "That's not the way we do things!" Marcos argues.   
        "Then I won't hunt," I state. I look up at my father who seemed concerned with my decision. I had a suspicion that my grandmother's urgency for me to start up on my training had a reason for it and my father's reaction confirmed it. "I'm not the one who needs you. You're the ones who  **need** me."   
        Marcos opens his mouth to argue with that but my father raises his hand and pulls Marcos away from me.   
        "We do need you," my father states. "And I agree to your request, though your grandmother isn't going to like that but if it's get you to train then she'll have to deal with it. **We hunt those who need to be hunted.** "   
        I take his extended hand and shake it.   
        **"We hunt those who need to be hunted."**_  


*************

        I don't know how long I had been sitting in my couch before I heard the harsh loud knocks on my front door. I tighten the sash around my robe as I reluctantly made my way to the front door and opened it. I was ready to chastise Isaac for coming back when I notice Stiles and Scott holding grocery bags. They quickly make their way in and stop when they take notice of my destroyed home.  
        "What are you guys doing here?" I ask them confused to their sudden appearance and ignoring their shock. I make my way back to my seat on the couch and they soon followed me.   
        "We uh... we wanted to make sure you're ok." Scott tells me. "Clearly, you're not."   
        "And neither is your house." Stiles comments earning a shove from Scott. I ignore their pity as I answered the unasked questions.   
        "Derek was here," I explain to them. "He was angry."   
        "And what happened?" Scott asks as he sits next to me.  
        "He did this," I say motioning to destruction of my living room. "And more..."   
        Stiles clears away some of the debris and takes the seat on my other side.   
        "Did he listen to your side of the story?" Stiles asks me.   
        "We didn't get to that," I tell them. "He was too busy strangling me."   
        Scott and Stiles sit up in alarm at this but I pat them both down.   
        "Isaac stepped in before he could kill me," I whisper. "Though I honestly didn't care if he killed me. My death would solve most of his problems." I take a deep breath sensing the worry from both boys. "Don't worry, I'm not going to off myself. I was just explaining that I wouldn't mind paying for my wrongdoings with my own death."   
        "You've done nothing wrong," Scott states.  
        "I've done everything wrong." I tell him. "When I saw the Hale fire, I should have called for help. When my father explained to me about our hunting legacy, I should have walked away. When I saw Derek here in Beacon Hills, I should have packed up my things and left."  
        I couldn't help the fluctuation of my emotions as my eyes once again filled with tears.   
        "When he asked me to be his mate, I should have said no..." I cry out. "I should have just stayed away and now I ruined his life and I can't breathe and I..."   
        Stiles immediately pulls on one of the plastic bags and pulls out a container of Ben & Jerry's. He pops the lid open and shoves the ice cream into my hands. My tears stop falling as I stared down at the slowly melting mint chocolate chip ice cream. I couldn't help but let the laugh in my throat escaped. I wiped the tears away from my face as I looked up at Stiles confused face.   
        "I'm sorry," I gasp out as I tried to put a lid on my amusement. "This just caught me off guard."   
        "Ice cream is supposed to help with heartbreak." Stiles mumbles. "I just thought since we've all had our hearts broken tonight..."   
        "Wait what?" I interrupt him as I look between them both. "What do you mean?"  
        "Allison broke up with me earlier tonight," Scott says as he took out a container of vanilla ice cream and opened it with a shrug.   
        "I'm so sorry, Scott." I whisper. "Here I am crying and I didn't know about you and her..."   
        "It's ok," Scott replies. "We're meant to be together. She'll come back."   
        "You really think so?" Stiles asks him.   
        "Yeah," Scott says with a sad smile. "I know she is."   
        "And what about you?" I ask turning to Stiles. "Who broke your heart?"   
        "Lydia." Stiles answers grabbing another container of Ben & Jerry's for himself. I didn't know how to respond to that seeing that Lydia and Jackson seemed to be like a done deal. "It seems that the 10 year plan for making Lydia fall in love with me may have to stretch to 15, but the plan is definitely still in motion."  
        "Why don't you just ask her out?" Scott asks him.   
        "Yeah, okay." Stiles spits out in disbelief.  
        "So..." Scott draws out looking at me. "Do you think you and Derek are really over?"   
        "I wish I could have that teenage kind of hope you two have, but... it seems like Derek and I are really over... before it could have really started." I tell him, feeling my heart ache. I dip my finger in the ice cream and place it in my mouth. "I love him, you guys. I really do."   
        I let my head drop onto Scott's shoulders while Stiles made himself comfortable as he laid his head on my lap, ravishing his chocolate ice cream.   
        "Hey, you know what I just realized?" Scott asks after a while. "We're right back where we started."   
        "How so?" Stiles asks confused.   
        "I mean no lacrosse, no popularity, no girlfriend." Scott lists off.  
        "We're back at my cabin like the first night you turned into a werewolf." I continue. "No Derek. No pack. _Nothing."  
        _"Well you guys still got me." Stiles states.  
        "Yeah," I laugh out. "We still got you Stiles. It's a life fulfilled."   
        We all laugh at that and ate our ice cream in a mutual peace. Scott and Stiles had bought whipped cream and sprinkles and different types of toppings. Our little broken hearts hang out turning my sour night into a bitter sweet one, but there was still a looming question that no one had dared ask until now.   
        "So where does this leave us now?" Scott asks, breaking the silence.   
        "I don't know." I answer. "Only time can tell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't fret my darlings. There will be a second book.


End file.
